Amid a clampdown on non-Marathi-speaking auto and taxi drivers, the Maharashtra government on Thursday announced that it was granting a year to all migrant drivers to learn basic Marathi. The chief minister also promised no action against them in that one year.

The move effectively puts the mandatory Marathi language condition on hold for a year and comes after representatives of auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers’ organisations met Fadnavis and sought more time to comply.

Fadnavis said during the meeting, representatives of auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers’ organisations supported the government move to make Marathi proficiency mandatory for migrant drivers working in Mumbai.

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However, they argued that it was difficult for those who belong to different age groups and left formal education years ago.

“They demanded that they should be given one year. The state government has accepted their demand,” Fadnavis said.

He said the government would use the year to help drivers learn basic Marathi through classes and study material, rather than taking punitive action against them.

“During this one year, no action will be taken against them. We will help them by arranging different types of classes and preparing literature so that they can learn basic Marathi,” Fadnavis said.

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The announcement comes amid a political dispute over the requirement that auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers should have working knowledge of Marathi. Driver organisations had sought more time, saying many drivers needed additional support to meet the requirement.

The Maharashtra government had earlier made it mandatory for all non-Marathi auto and taxi drivers in the state to learn basics.

The decision was taken after an inspection by the Mira Bhayandar RTO revealed that several auto drivers lacked basic Marathi proficiency. It was then that Transport Minister Pratap Sarnaik declared that they all had to learn Marathi.