Two months after Mumbai’s shops and commercial establishments were given a deadline to put up Marathi signboards, the Brihanmumbai Municipal Corporation’s (BMC) enforcement drive has inspected about 3 per cent of them, civic records show.
Of the 36,773 establishments covered in that period, 1,124 were found to be without Marathi signboards, a non-compliance rate of about 3 per cent among those checked.
Data submitted to the BMC’s Law Committee shows the survey to identify non-compliant establishments has been slowed by acute staff shortages as well as the deployment of civic personnel for the Census and the Special Intensive Revision (SIR) of electoral rolls.
According to the BMC’s Shops and Establishments Department, only 57 of the sanctioned 127 inspector posts are filled, leaving the department at 45 per cent strength. It has to survey about 10.83 lakh shops and commercial establishments across the city’s 26 wards.
The inspections are being carried out by a task force constituted under the direction of Deputy Mayor Sanjay Ghadi, who had warned that establishments failing to install Marathi signboards would face “Shiv Sena-style” action. In May, Ghadi gave shops and establishments two months to comply.
Civic officials say that target was never achievable. “Each municipal ward has between 25,000 and 40,000 shops and establishments, depending on its size, while every ward office has only two to three inspectors. It is simply not possible to inspect all establishments and ensure compliance within two months,” a civic official said.
Earlier this week, Law Committee chairperson Diksha Karkar wrote to Industries and Marathi Language Minister Uday Samant seeking an urgent meeting to resolve bottlenecks in implementing the signboard rules. She had earlier written to Municipal Commissioner Ashwini Bhide seeking a meeting on the issue, and received no response.
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Names of shops written in Marathi script are seen at Dadar in Mumbai on 24 July 2026. Express photo by Sankhadeep Banerjee.
“The issue of Marathi signboards has remained unresolved for a long time and there is a need for a clear standard operating procedure. More than 50 per cent of the posts in the Shops and Establishments Department are vacant and should be filled at the earliest,” Karkar told The Indian Express.
“We also need a proper staff deployment mechanism. Many inspectors are assigned to national duties such as the SIR and Census. While these assignments are important, there has to be a balance so that work on Marathi signboards is not affected,” she said.
In the same letter, Karkar flagged flaws in the online registration system, claiming it inflates the number of registered establishments. “If an applicant makes an error during registration, the system creates a fresh registration without cancelling the earlier one, leading to artificially inflated figures,” the letter states. It also points out that the portal allows registrations for establishments on footpaths, streets and service lanes, creating urban management challenges for the civic administration.
In February 2022, the Maharashtra legislature unanimously amended the Maharashtra Shops and Establishments Act, making Marathi signboards mandatory for all shops and commercial establishments in the state, with Marathi lettering larger and more prominent than text in any other language.
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The Federation of Retail Traders Welfare Association challenged the amendment in the Supreme Court, which granted an interim stay in 2022. The stay was vacated in September 2023, after which the BMC gave establishments until November 2023 to comply before beginning enforcement.
Under the enforcement mechanism, the BMC first issues notices to non-compliant establishments. It then levies a penalty of Rs 2,000 per registered employee and grants seven days to install Marathi signboards. Continued non-compliance results in prosecution before local courts, where the civic body seeks orders to suspend business operations until the rules are complied with.
Between November 11, 2023, and April 30, 2026, in the period before the current drive began, the BMC registered cases against 1,423 establishments, civic records show. Of these, 395 challenged the action in court and 1,014 complied. The civic body collected Rs 1.05 crore in penalties over those two and a half years.
Pratip Acharya is a seasoned journalist based in Mumbai reporting for The Indian Express. With a career spanning over a decade, his work demonstrates strong Expertise and Authority in critical urban issues, civic affairs, and electoral politics across Eastern and Western India.
Expertise & Authority
Current Role: Journalist, The Indian Express (IE), reporting from Mumbai.
Core Authority: Pratip's reporting focuses sharply on local democracy and development, specializing in:
Urban Governance and Civic Affairs: Providing in-depth analysis of municipal decision-making, city planning, and local infrastructure, essential for informed urban reporting.
City Politics and Environment: Covering the political dynamics of Mumbai and surrounding areas, alongside critical environmental challenges impacting the metro region.
Electoral Coverage (High-Stakes Experience): He has extensive experience in high-stakes political reporting, having covered major elections, establishing his Trustworthiness in political analysis:
National: Lok Sabha elections in 2014 and 2019.
State: West Bengal Assembly elections in 2016 and Maharashtra Assembly elections in 2019.
Major Assignments (Ground Reporting): Pratip demonstrated commitment during crises by conducting ground reporting throughout the Covid-19 pandemic since its breakout in 2020, offering first-hand accounts and analysis of the public health crisis.
Experience
Extensive Experience: Starting his career in 2014, Pratip has built his foundation across multiple prominent English dailies:
Started at The Times of India in Kolkata (2014).
Relocated to Mumbai (2016) and worked with The Free Press Journal and Hindustan Times before joining The Indian Express.
Pratip Acharya's diverse experience across major publications, coupled with his specialized focus on the intricate details of urban governance and a track record of covering major electoral and health crises, establishes him as a trusted and authoritative source for news from India's critical metropolitan centres. ... Read More
Names of shops written in Marathi script are seen at Dadar in Mumbai on 24 July 2026.