Maharashtra orders cane transport safety checks, flying squads for mill weighbridges

Kolhapur: Ahead of the 2026-27 sugarcane crushing season, the Maharashtra Sugar Commissionerate has issued safety guidelines for sugarcane transportation and directed district collectors to form flying squads to conduct surprise inspections of sugar mill weighbridges, The Times of India reported.

In a circular issued on Saturday, Sugar Commissioner Sanjay Kolte said sugarcane transportation remains a major cause of road accidents during the crushing season and directed sugar factories to ensure that transporters strictly follow safety norms.

The guidelines require cane transport vehicles to display reflector tapes and boards and be equipped with rear-view mirrors. Mills have also been instructed to prevent overloading, attaching multiple trailers, unsafe overtaking, roadside parking and the use of loud music systems while transporting cane.

“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.

He noted that tractors, trailers and bullock carts carrying sugarcane travel considerably slower than regular traffic, increasing the risk of rear-end collisions. The risk is higher when vehicles are parked on roadsides or carry loads extending beyond the vehicle body.

The commissionerate has also directed sugar factories to ensure that cane transporters use service roads instead of highways wherever such roads are available.

Meanwhile, the department has moved to address farmers’ complaints over alleged discrepancies in sugarcane weighing at mills. Kolte said farmer organisations had repeatedly demanded inspections of sugar factory weighbridges.

“Farmer organisations have repeatedly demanded inspections of sugar factory weighbridges. It is necessary to establish flying squads and carry out inspections through them,” he said.

District collectors have been asked to form taluka- or district-level squads depending on the number of operating sugar factories in their jurisdictions. The teams will comprise officials from the revenue, police and legal metrology departments, IT experts, regional sugar officials and farmer representatives.

The district administrations will arrange vehicles for the inspection teams.

Kolte said complaints had been received about alleged under-weighing of sugarcane through tampering with weighbridge calibration. He directed that all sugarcane weighbridges be properly calibrated and sealed.

Legal metrology officials have been instructed to inspect, calibrate and seal the weighbridges in the presence of farmer representatives, aimed at improving transparency and ensuring that farmers receive payment for the actual quantity of sugarcane supplied.

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