Maharashtra okays bill to make Marathi mandatory in local bodies

The Maharashtra legislative assembly and the council on Thursday unanimously passed a bill that aims to make use of Marathi language mandatory in official works of local authorities, including civic bodies and corporations formed by the state government.

State minister Subhash Desai said the introduction of the bill was necessitated as the Maharashtra Official Language Act, 1964 did not make it mandatory for the local authorities to use Marathi in their official works.

He also cited examples of the authorities taking 'advantage' of the lack of the provision in the Act.

“It is our effort to do away with that mistake,” Desai said.

"Any (local) authority, be it established by the state government or the central government or (state-run) corporations, will have to use Marathi while interacting with people and in internal works too,” he said.

The minister also said the use of English or Hindi by local authorities for certain government works like communicating with foreign ambassadors has been allowed.

Speaking in the legislative council, Desai said, "We are this time not leaving any loopholes for anyone to find an excuse to not use Marathi language in public and commercial places. The state government is also coming up with a dictionary of simple Marathi words that can be used in day-to-day work.”

Earlier, Bharatiya Janata Party MLA Yogesh Sagar, while speaking on the bill in the assembly, wondered why the 'love for Marathi' surfaces when elections are around.

He was apparently referring to local body polls, including that of the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation, which are due.

Sagar backed the bill and said all the files must be in Marathi only.

Countering him, Desai said the issue should not be linked to politics.

“Should we not discharge our duties just because the elections are around the corner? It is our right to bring the bill. Elections will come and go,” he added.