Administration removes grammatically incorrect signboard at Mantralaya entrance

Impact of a report published by the daily Sanatan Prabhat

Notice board containing incorrect Marathi language

Mumbai, 27 May (Correspondent) – A notice board installed at the entrance of Mantralaya for visitors contained incorrect Marathi wording that was difficult to understand. On 26 May 2026, the daily Sanatan Prabhat published a detailed report regarding this. Following this report, the administration removed the signboard on 27 May. The report had also been brought to the attention of Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis, Marathi Language Minister Uday Samant, and the Marathi Language Department by tagging their accounts on X. After the report appeared in Sanatan Prabhat, several other newspapers also covered the issue.

What was written on the signboard?

At the ‘Garden Gate’ entrance of Mantralaya, the notice board displayed the message: “मंत्रालय प्रवेश करीता ०२.०० वाजल्यांचे रांग येथुन चालु”. Not a single word on the board had been written correctly in Marathi.

Indifference from Marathi-speaking people

The Marathi Language Department, which works for the promotion and standardisation of Marathi in the State, also functions from the same Mantralaya building. Hundreds of citizens from across Maharashtra regularly pass through this entrance and see the board. Despite this, the incomprehensible signboard had remained in place for many days. The report in Sanatan Prabhat pointed out that even officials of the Marathi Language Department had ignored the issue, thereby displaying indifference towards the Marathi language.

Proper protocol needed for Government signboards

The same location in Mantralaya after the notice board was removed

Various notices are displayed in Mantralaya and other government offices. Every government office also has designated Marathi language officers responsible for ensuring linguistic correctness. Despite this, many official notices contain grammatical errors. At a time when Marathi is the State language and crores of rupees are spent every year on programmes promoting Marathi, having incorrect language on official signboards amounts to mocking the language itself. This reflects either ridicule by the administration towards Marathi or a mere pretence of affection for the language. Therefore, the Government must establish a proper protocol to ensure that all notices displayed in government offices are grammatically and linguistically correct.