Kolhapur : Ahead of the 2026-27 sugar cane crushing season, Maharashtra Sugar Commissionerate has issued a detailed set of safety guidelines for cane transport and directed district collectors to form flying squads to conduct surprise inspections of mill weighbridges amid complaints of cane under-weighing.
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Kolte said complaints had been received that cane was being under-weighed by tampering with weighbridge calibration. “Sugarcane weighbridges must be calibrated and sealed,” he said. The circular mandates reflector tapes and boards on vehicles carrying cane, installation of rear-view mirrors, and restrictions on practices such as attaching multiple trailers, overloading vehicles, improper overtaking, roadside parking and driving with loud music systems. Collectors have been asked to constitute taluka or district-level squads based on the number of operating sugar factories. The teams will include officials from the revenue, police and legal metrology departments, IT experts, regional sugar officials and representatives of farmers. Vehicle arrangements for the squads will be made by district administrations. The circular directs legal metrology officers to inspect, calibrate and seal weighbridges in the presence of farmer representatives. Download the TOI App.
In a circular issued on Saturday, sugar commissioner Sanjay Kolte warned that sugar cane transportation is a major cause of road accidents during the crushing season and said mills must ensure transporters strictly follow safety norms.
“Accidents occur because cane vehicles often travel at night without proper reflectors, making them difficult for other motorists to spot until it is too late,” Kolte said in the circular. It is necessary to establish flying squads and carry out inspections through them,” Kolte said. The commissioner noted that tractors, trailers and bullock carts transporting cane move much slower than regular traffic, increasing the risk of rear-end collisions, especially when vehicles are parked on roadsides or carry loads extending beyond the vehicle body. The circular also directs sugar factories to ensure that cane transporters use service roads wherever available instead of highways. At the same time, the commissionerate has moved to address long-standing complaints from farmers about inaccuracies in cane weighing at sugar mills. “Farmer organisations have repeatedly demanded inspections of sugar factory weighbridges.