PUNE, Aug. 25 -- The Maharashtra government has launched a statewide exercise to physically verify sugar stocks held by mills and traders amid a sharp rise in retail prices and the Centre's suspicion that hoarding may be contributing to the surge. Teams from the Food and Civil Supplies Department will inspect traders' stocks, while the Sugar Commissionerate will verify stocks at sugar factories and check whether sugar sold by mills is being lifted by designated dealers within the stipulated period. The decision was taken on Friday, following directions from the Union government after retail sugar prices rose sharply. The Centre has attributed the increase to lower closing stocks, higher festive demand and alleged hoarding and speculative activity by some mills and traders. State food and civil supplies minister Chhagan Bhujbal on Sunday said his department had directed all district supply officers to form teams for surprise inspections at traders' premises. "Apart from the teams at the district level, flying squads of our department based in Mumbai will also carry out physical verification of sugar stocks of traders. These teams will check that no trader keeps more than 4,000 quintals of sugar at any given point of time as directed by the Centre," Bhujbal said. The Centre's stockholding restrictions, which came into effect on August 1, will remain in force until November 30. Dealers cannot hold more than 4,000 quintals (400 tonnes) or retain stocks for more than 30 days from receipt. The Sugar Commissionerate has also begun preparations to verify stocks at sugar factories across Maharashtra. State sugar commissioner Sanjay Kolte said teams would physically verify stocks at all 208 factories covered by the exercise and check whether sugar sold by mills is lifted by dealers within a week. The exercise is significant as Maharashtra is one of the country's largest sugar-producing state. It produced 99 lakh tonnes of sugar during the 2025-26 crushing season, 18 lakh tonnes more than the previous season, according to the National Federation of Cooperative Sugar Factories....