According to BMC’s estimates, 20 per cent of the shops in the city had not complied with the law. Civic officials visited over 28,653 shops, which is around 5 per cent of the total number of shops in the city, and served notices to 5,217. The Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association (FRTWA) challenged the constitutionality of the amendment and requested a stay on BMC action. The SC ordered a stay on BMC action in the first week of November 2022. 

Association issues note

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The FRTWA, in a note circulated on Tuesday, said that the court has directed the petitioners to comply with the amendment. The order said that since the festivals of Diwali and Dussehra are approaching, the Marathi signage will make the shops more accessible to Maharashtrian citizens. The counsel for the petitioner sought an extension of six months to comply with the law considering that there are almost 5 lakh shops in the city which would come under the Act’s purview. However, the SC granted them two months.

Viren Shah, president, of FRTWA, said, “We will honour the SC’s order and a message has been sent to all members conveying it. Shopkeepers have been asked to ensure that the font of the Marathi words in Devanagari script is not smaller than scripts of other languages.”

Shah added that the association never had an objection to using the Marathi language. “Our issue was that most of the boards will be redesigned as per a rule which is not practical. It requires revamping the board design to accommodate other languages,” Shah said.

The Act mandates a Rs 2,000 fine per shop staffer for violation. There is a compounding provision under the Act wherein the BMC can fine the shops and settle the matter if the shops display boards in Marathi without filing court cases. “The SC has given two months for compliance. We will take action after that,” said a BMC official.

20%
Shops that had not complied till Nov 2022