Overview
- Driver unions, which resolved Monday to escalate action, said daily protests will start May 4 if the state does not withdraw the directive by April 28.
- The transport department is drafting a standard operating procedure for checks at 59 Regional Transport Offices, with on‑the‑spot tests of reading, writing and speaking Marathi and the risk of licence suspension or cancellation for failures.
- A 2016–2017 Bombay High Court ruling set aside a similar language condition for autorickshaw permits, holding autos are “motor cabs” exempt from Rule 24, a precedent unions are poised to cite if enforcement begins.
- Union leaders say the rule could hit about 15 lakh permit holders across Maharashtra, including roughly 5 lakh in the Mumbai Metropolitan Region, threatening incomes for families that rely on rickshaw and taxi work.
- Officials say they are enforcing an existing badge rule and not creating a new regime, while unions call the move discriminatory and note that app‑based cabs and illegal bike taxis are not facing comparable checks.