The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) announced in a news statement published on Wednesday (April 6) that all stores and institutions in Mumbai, regardless of size, shall prominently display signboards in Marathi written in the Devanagari script.
If a signboard shows the name of a shop or company in more than one script, the one in Devanagari should be in larger font, according to the order.
The BMC further said that liquor stores and bars must not bear the names of mythical figures or ancient forts.
The modified regulation would take effect immediately, according to a BMC note released on Wednesday. Shops, restaurants, bars, and other businesses, according to BMC authorities, will have “some time” to update their display boards to comply with the new law.
“The dealers were aware of the modification once it was authorised by the legislature,” a civic official stated. We will, however, allow them some time to make the required adjustments.”
BMC did not provide a timeline for the change’s implementation.
Last month, the Maharashtra Assembly passed a bill requiring stores and organisations to display Marathi signboards in Devanagari script.
The Marathi-Devanagari script’s font could not be smaller than the fonts of the other scripts, according to the modification. In the event of a violation, the Shops Act of 2017 allows for legal action to be taken.
The change affected a wide range of businesses, including grocery stores, offices, hotels, restaurants, clubs, and theatres.
The Shiv-Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA) government’s campaign for Marathi is being interpreted as an attempt to strengthen the Marathi vote bank ahead of the BMC polls. Sena has ruled BMC for 25 years, and it is presently administered by a state-appointed administrator after the elected body’s mandate expired in March.
The Sena and Maharashtra Navnirman Sena, in particular, have made signboards a political issue (MNS). MNS activists had previously attacked two establishments in the city that had put up Gujarati signboards, with one of the signboards being forcefully removed.
Following MNS protests, the BMC issued regulations in 2008 mandating the installation of Marathi signboards in all stores and establishments. Following a Bombay High Court judgement, the corporation was forced to retract its decree.
The Sena resurrected the Marathi manoos issue in the 2017 civic elections, which the BJP and Sena campaigned independently. The Sena gained 84 seats that year, retaining control of the local council.
The Sena, which is a coalition partner in the MahaVikas Aaghadi (MVA) administration, has been pushing its agenda in Marathi for the past two years.
The Maharashtra legislature enacted a bill in July 2021 revising the Maharashtra Official Language Act, 1964 to allow for the effective use of Marathi in all government agencies.
Another bill, passed in February 2020, makes Marathi a compulsory subject in all board schools from Classes 1 to 10.
The Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA), a state-level umbrella group of shops, said in a statement released last month after the legislature approved the bill that shopkeepers had already suffered greatly as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic, and that changing signboards would add to their financial burden.
“Cronies of rupees would be spent if we are forced to alter the name board to Marathi.” Depending on the size of the board, each shopkeeper would have to pay somewhere between Rs 10,000 and Rs 30,000. The statement added, “Such a move will not sit well with the trading communities.”
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