Pune: Sugar Commissioner Dr. Sanjay Kolte has directed the Controller of the Legal Metrology Department to prepare a legal framework and implementation plan for installing government-controlled or independent digital weighbridges at sugar mills where repeated complaints about sugarcane weighing have been reported, Sakal reported.
The move follows a demand raised by Swabhimani Shetkari Sanghatana president and former MP Raju Shetti.
In a letter issued on February 4, the commissioner suggested that if funds are not available, the weighbridges could be financed through MLA or MP development funds. Another option proposed was a nominal deduction from farmers’ sugarcane payments, subject to their consent, to support the installation of these systems.
The action comes amid allegations that sugarcane growers are being exploited due to inaccurate weighing and manipulation of recovery rates at several mills across the state.
Shetti had written to the Sugar Commissionerate on December 16, 2025, highlighting serious complaints from farmers about the incorrect weighing of sugarcane by mills. He urged immediate intervention by the Legal Metrology Department to ensure accurate measurement and prevent financial losses for farmers.
The proposal focuses on adopting a digital and online system. Technical standards are to be set so that weighbridges at mills can be connected to the state government’s central server, allowing every recorded weight to be monitored by authorities.
Along with weighing issues, complaints of irregularities in recovery calculations have also increased, leaving sugarcane farmers, transporters, and harvesting workers under added financial strain.
There have been demands for the state government to install weighbridges outside all sugar mills under the supervision of district collectors, joint directors of sugar, excise officials, and legal metrology authorities.
Shetti also noted that Chief Minister Devendra Fadnavis had earlier taken a clear stand on the issue, stating that some sugar mills in the state were engaging in weighing malpractices.
