As deadline ends, BMC to start survey for Marathi signboards at shops

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The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said a survey would be conducted to check if shops and establishments in the metropolis were adhering to the rule about displaying signboards in Marathi prominently, as the deadline for its implementation has ended.

The civic body had set May 31 as the deadline for shops and establishments here for putting up their signboards with names written in Marathi language (in Devnagari script) and displaying them prominently.

In a release issued on Tuesday, the BMC said necessary administrative and legal action will be initiated against the shops and establishments found violating the rule.

The survey will be undertaken over the next 8 to 10 days for reviewing implementation of the rule, it said.

Legal action against violators will be initiated as per the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017 and the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2022, the release said.

Elections to the BMC, the country’s richest civic body, are due this year, and prominent display of Marathi signboards on shops has been a key political issue for parties such as the Shiv Sena and its rival MNS, which eye Marathi votes.

In March, the Maharashtra legislature passed a law which made it mandatory for all shops and establishments to display their names in Marathi on signboards.

Subsequently, the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA-also comprising the NCP and Congress) administration issued a government resolution to enforce the law.

@the_news_21

The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation (BMC) has said a survey would be conducted to check if shops and establishments in the metropolis were adhering to the rule about displaying signboards in Marathi prominently, as the deadline for its implementation has ended.

The civic body had set May 31 as the deadline for shops and establishments here for putting up their signboards with names written in Marathi language (in Devnagari script) and displaying them prominently.

In a release issued on Tuesday, the BMC said necessary administrative and legal action will be initiated against the shops and establishments found violating the rule.

The survey will be undertaken over the next 8 to 10 days for reviewing implementation of the rule, it said.

Legal action against violators will be initiated as per the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2017 and the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 2022, the release said.

Elections to the BMC, the country’s richest civic body, are due this year, and prominent display of Marathi signboards on shops has been a key political issue for parties such as the Shiv Sena and its rival MNS, which eye Marathi votes.

In March, the Maharashtra legislature passed a law which made it mandatory for all shops and establishments to display their names in Marathi on signboards.

Subsequently, the Shiv Sena-led Maha Vikas Aghadi (MVA-also comprising the NCP and Congress) administration issued a government resolution to enforce the law.