Maharashtra Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis on Thursday said that non-Marathi speaking auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers in Maharashtra will be given one year to learn the language. He added that no action will be taken against the drivers for not knowing Marathi during this period.This comes amid a statewide inspection campaign to enforce the Maharashtra government’s rule making Marathi mandatory for auto-rickshaw and cab drivers in the state. As of Saturday, the Maharashtra Transport Department had issued notices to more than 770 drivers for lacking basic knowledge of Marathi.On Thursday, representatives of auto-rickshaw and taxi drivers’ organisations met Fadnavis, seeking more time to comply with the rule.The chief minister said that the representatives supported the government’s decision to make basic knowledge of Marathi compulsory. However, they said that it would be difficult for people of different age groups, many of whom had left school years ago, to learn the language in such a short period.He also said that the organisations have prepared a plan to teach Marathi to the drivers and the government will support them by providing study material.The Bharatiya Janata Party-led government on April 14 made basic knowledge of Marathi mandatory for all licensed taxi and auto-rickshaw drivers from May 1. The requirement also applies to drivers working with cab aggregators such as Ola, Uber and Rapido.On April 29, it deferred the implementation of the decision until August 15.The Regional Transport Office has deployed marshals to conduct language tests on roads, at rickshaw stands and at junctions.Among the questions asked by the marshals in Marathi are “Where do you want to go?”, “Please start the meter” and “Do you have change?”Written by Anamika Pathak. Edited by Nachiket Deuskar.