Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana founder and former MP Raju Shetti on Friday alleged that irregularities in weighment and sugar recovery at several sugar factories in Maharashtra are causing financial losses to cane growers.
Addressing the issue, Shetti claimed that during the current crushing season, the total recorded weight of sugarcane crushed has dropped by an average of 10 to 15 per cent. He said manipulation in weighment and discrepancies in recovery have placed sugarcane farmers, transporters and harvesting workers under severe strain.
Seeking government intervention, Shetti demanded that state-run weighbridges be installed at all sugar factories and connected to an online monitoring system. He submitted a memorandum to Controller of Legal Metrology Chandrakant Dange, urging that an order issued by the State Sugar Commissioner be implemented from the next crushing season.
According to the memorandum, independent digital weighbridges should be set up outside every sugar factory in the state and linked directly to the governmentтАЩs main server. These weighbridges, he said, should function under the supervision of the district collector, the joint director of sugar, the excise department superintendent and the legal metrology department.
Shetti also suggested that the state government should take the initiative in installing the weighbridges. If funds are not available, he proposed that the cost be recovered through an equal per-tonne deduction from the sugarcane supplied to factories.
