Mumbai: Even after two deadlines, several traders in the city have shown an inability to display the Marathi signboards and demand some more time for it. So, the BMC will now take ward-wise review of the situation and will accordingly take a decision on the extension, said the civic officials.
The earlier deadline ended on May 31, after which the BMC, considering the request of traders, decided to give one month's time which will end on June 30.
The Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA) has again come up with a request to extend the deadline by six months. To discuss the issue, a meeting was held by the additional municipal commissioner Asheesh Sharma at the BMC headquarters. Deputy municipal commissioner (special) Sanjog Kabre, Chief officer of the BMC's (shop and establishment) Sunita Joshi, and representatives of the traders association attended the meeting.
The introduction of the above law at one go will overburden the scarce resources of signboard manufacturers who are facing an acute shortage of labour at present, resulting in skyrocketing prices of new signboards, argued the traders association.
But the BMC administration has disagreed with the association's need for an extension of the deadline by six months. Kabre said, "We will take a ward-wise review of the situation of Marathi signboards in the city. After finding out how many of them have not changed and the reason behind it, we will take a call by the end of this month."
Viren Shah, president of FRTWA said, "The BMC assured that they will decide about the extension of the deadline after their ward-wise reports are ready. So we will be waiting for their decision, meanwhile, we are also trying to meet Subhash Desai, Maharashtra Industries minister regarding the extension of the deadline for Marathi signboards.
As per the amendment in the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments (Regulation of Employment and Condition of Service) Act, 2017, all shops in Mumbai should mandatorily display Marathi signboards in Devanagari script. It also mentions that the font size of the letters in the Marathi language should be prominently visible and should be larger than the fonts of other languages that are being used on the signboards.
The order covers all kinds of shops and establishments like grocery shops, garment stores, offices, hotels, restaurants, bars and theatres, irrespective of the size and locality. As per the law, the violators will be fined Rs. 2000 per person employed in their shops or establishments. There are around five lakhs shops and establishments in the city.
