Taxi drivers should know any local language including Hindi and Gujarati: Ashok Chavan
merisarkar news service
New Delhi, January 21, 2010
A Taxi in Mumbai (File Photo)
After the backlash over its decision to grant licenses to only those taxi drivers that know Marathi the Maharashtra government on Thursday relented saying the cab drivers should know any local language including Hindi and Gujarati.
The Ashok Chavan government was criticized for acting like Raj Thakrey's party MNS.
On Wednesday the government had announced that new licenses to drive taxi will only be given to those who know Marathi and had lived in the state for fifteen years.
However, the government clarified that existing taxi drivers, who hold a valid license, would not be affected by the decision.
Ashok Chavan, Maharashtra CM
Chavan said, "Cabinet has gone by the Maharashtra Motor vehicles rules which were framed in 1989. As per that rule, for a person to have a permit, 15 years of domicile is compulsory.
And the second rule says that for a taxi badge for a driver, working knowledge of local language is necessary."
"The local language can be Marathi, Hindi, Gujarati. It can include anything. The knowledge of the local language is necessary," the chief minister said.
A big chunk of nearly two lakh taxi drivers in Mumbai comprise migrants from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and Uttarakhand.
