The Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation has issued notices to 294 establishments for not displaying Marathi signboards after inspecting 9,798 premises across 10 Mumbai wards between August 20 and September 9, according to a report by the Times of India.
The inspections were conducted by the BMC’s shops and establishments department as part of the second phase of its enforcement drive linked to the Supreme Court order on Marathi name boards. The civic action has focused on prominent roads and highways, including S V Road, L B S Marg, Link Road and the Eastern and Western Express Highways.
Diksha Karkar, chairperson of the BMC’s law, revenue and general purposes committee, said the second phase was directed at establishments located along these major transport corridors. The inspection figures indicate the scale of the civic department’s current enforcement effort, although the report does not specify the ward-wise distribution of the 294 notices or the penalties imposed in each case.
The BMC’s action follows renewed attention to the issue in May, when corporators raised concerns during a meeting of the law, revenue and general purposes committee that the civic administration was not adequately implementing the Supreme Court order. Committee members pointed to establishments including star hotels, rooftop restaurants operated by celebrities and multinational company premises that, they said, displayed only English name boards without Marathi signage.
One establishment cited in the latest drive was Badshah Cold Drink Depot. After the BMC issued it a notice and imposed a fine of Rs 9,000, the establishment installed a new board displaying English and Devanagari scripts in equal font sizes, Karkar said. The case provides an example of the enforcement process described in the report: inspection, notice, penalty and subsequent compliance by the establishment.
For Mumbai’s commercial premises, the drive places signboard compliance within the routine functioning of the municipal shops and establishments department. The action also shows how a language-related court direction is being implemented through inspections of businesses located on busy roads and major city entry and movement corridors. The report does not provide details of the Supreme Court order’s specific compliance deadline, the total number of establishments covered by the order or the next stage of action against businesses that remain non-compliant.
The BMC’s reported inspections covered 10 wards over a 21-day period. The department has not, according to the report, announced a final completion date for the enforcement drive. Further action will depend on the civic administration’s continuing inspections and the response of establishments that have received notices.
