India, April 7 -- Permits and domicile certificates of over 12,000 registered auto and taxi drivers operating in Mira Road and Bhayandar are being scrutinised by RTO in batches to ascertain their authenticity; and to ensure absolute certainty they are also being asked to take a test of Marathi to prove fluency in the language.

On Monday, transport minister Pratap Sarnaik said the action was triggered by a recent complaint from Mira-Bhayandar-based BJP MLA, Narendra Mehta, who had raised concerns with chief minister Devendra Fadnavis about large-scale irregularities in issuing licences, badges and permits, claiming they were being hastily doled out to fresh migrants in Mira-Bhayandar.

There are 280,000 permit holders of auto rickshaws an...