--- title: "Maharashtra’s sugarcane cutters face mechanisation as mills turn to machines" url: https://projectchintan.com/article/maharashtra-sugarcane-cutters-mechanisation-2298q publisher: Project Chintan author: Project Chintan Newsroom section: Society published: 2026-08-18T19:30:42.049Z modified: 2026-08-18T21:30:07.274Z language: en-IN --- # Maharashtra’s sugarcane cutters face mechanisation as mills turn to machines The Maharashtra sugarcane sector relies on a large migrant workforce, with legal and social challenges. The sector faces increased mechanisation as workers seek new livelihoods following long-standing exploitation and a 2025 Bombay High Court directive on welfare measures. ## Key takeaways - Migrant sugarcane cutters in Maharashtra number near 10 lakh, with about half being women. - Wages are often paid to men, even when couples work together, and fines are imposed for taking time off. - Workdays are long, with reported start times around 3 a.m. and up to 16 hours of work daily. - A 2025 Bombay High Court ruling mandated comprehensive welfare measures for sugarcane cutters. - Mills are increasingly adopting mechanisation, seen by some as a response to worker activism and welfare policy pressures. ## What Happened In Maharashtra, a large seasonal workforce of sugarcane cutters travels from multiple districts, mainly Beed, to harvest in the western sugar belt and in other states during October to March. Mills hire contractors to recruit these workers, with wages paid to men even when couples work together as a unit. A significant portion of the workforce is female, and many workers have faced harsh conditions, including fines for taking time off and limited access to basic amenities. The dynamic is shifting as mills increasingly adopt mechanical harvesting, reducing reliance on manual labour. In 2025, the Bombay High Court directed the state government to implement comprehensive welfare measures for sugarcane cutters, a ruling cited by activists as a turning point that coincides with growing calls for mechanisation by mills. ## Why It Matters The trend toward mechanisation intersects with long-standing labor rights concerns, including exploitation, unequal wage practices, and inadequate access to toilets and other amenities. Officials have faced pressure to formalise protections for a large, often migrant, workforce that is central to Maharashtra's sugar economy. The switch to machines could alter livelihoods, potentially reducing the number of jobs for cutters while changing how welfare measures are delivered and enforced following the 2025 court directive. ## Background Beed district and other sugarcane-growing zones in western Maharashtra rely on a seasonal migration of workers who load and cut sugarcane in gruelling schedules. Contractors known as mukadams recruit workers, and wages are typically paid to male heads of households in many cases, even when families travel and work together. Reports and activism over the years have highlighted financial and sexual exploitation, along with inadequate basic services for workers, prompting protests and judicial intervention that culminated in a 2025 Bombay High Court ruling directing welfare measures for cutters. ## Key Facts - Nearly 10 lakh migrant sugarcane cutters operate in Maharashtra, with about half being women, according to government estimates. - Workers travel from 13 districts within Maharashtra to sugarcane belts in western Maharashtra and to states such as Karnataka, Gujarat and Tamil Nadu. - Wages are paid to men even when couples are hired as a unit; a day off can incur fines, with ₹600 for an individual and ₹1,200 if both partners are absent. - The typical workday is described as starting around 3 a.m. and extending to about 16 hours, with a stated output of about two tonnes of sugarcane cut per day. - Seasonal earnings for a couple are reported as less than ₹80,000 by the end of the season. - In 2025, the Bombay High Court directed the Maharashtra government to implement comprehensive welfare measures for sugarcane cutters. - Activists note that mills historically avoided responsibility for workers’ basic rights and amenities, and contend that mechanisation is now being pursued as a response to worker activism and policy pressure. ## What Happens Next Activists expect continued push for worker welfare following the 2025 court directive, while mills may expand mechanisation to reduce dependency on manual labour. The outcome will depend on policy implementation, enforcement of welfare measures, and the pace at which milling operations adopt or scale mechanical harvesting across the cane belt. --- Canonical: https://projectchintan.com/article/maharashtra-sugarcane-cutters-mechanisation-2298q Reported from: Multiple Sources