Taxi permits to those knowing local languages: Maharashtra CM

Mumbai, Jan 21 (PTI) Under fire for his government's
decision to give licenses only to those taxi drivers who know
Marathi, Chief Minister of India's western state of
Maharashtra, Ashok Chavan on Thursday backtracked, saying cab
drivers should know any local language including Hindi and
Gujarati.

In a Raj Thackeray-type move, the Congress-NCP
government on Wednesday decided to give new taxi licenses to
only those persons who are well versed in Marathi and have
resided in the state for at least 15 years.
The government had, however, clarified that existing
taxi drivers, who hold a valid license, would not be affected
by the decision.
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."
Taxi drivers can get a taxi permit if they know how to
speak the local language such as Marathi, Gujarati, he said.
The Bombay Taximen's association, the oldest in the
city, had condemned the decision with its secretary A L
Quadros saying it was unacceptable and politically motivated.
A sizeable section of over two lakh taxi drivers in
Mumbai comprise migrants from Uttar Pradesh, Bihar and
Uttarakhand. About 4,000 new taxi permits are given each year.
Maharashtra Navnirman Sena (MNS) chief Raj Thackeray
had been in the forefront of an anti-migrant campaign in the
state last year and had come in for severe criticism from
several political parties.
The government's move is being seen as an attempt to
woo the youth in the run up to the civic polls and counter the
MNS.
Terming the decision as "unconstitutional", Rashtriya
Janata Dal (RJD) Chief Lalu Prasad asked Prime Minister of
India Manmohan Singh to ensure that it is revoked.
However, Congress sought to downplay the controversy,
saying the move was simply reinforcing an old provision in the
Motor Vehicles Rule. PTI VT
AHM