The state has stepped up inspections of sugar traders after complaints that some dealers are holding stocks beyond the permitted 4,000-quintal limit, raising concerns about artificial scarcity and further price increases ahead of the festive season.The Food Supplies Department is checking traders’ physical inventories against the quantities they have declared on the Food Stock Monitoring Portal. The move follows the state government’s August 17 directive requiring sugar dealers to register on the portal, upload their current stocks and update the details every Friday.The Centre has capped sugar stocks at 4,000 quintals, or 400 tonnes, at any one time or place. Dealers are also barred from retaining sugar for more than 30 days from the date of receipt. The restrictions are in force until November 30 and are aimed at preventing hoarding and black marketing.The inspections begin as sugar prices have risen sharply across Punjab. Wholesale loose sugar is currently selling at around Rs 61-68 per kg, up from nearly Rs 45 a week ago. Retail prices have increased to Rs 65-70 per kg from around Rs 50 during the same period. Traders have also reported shortages of branded sugar, citing irregular supplies to the market.Officials said the complaints have raised concerns that traders may be holding stocks acquired beyond the permissible limit instead of releasing them into the market. District officials have therefore been instructed to conduct regular physical inspections and verify the stock declarations submitted online.Dealers who fail to register on the portal or provide false, incomplete or delayed information could face action under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955.However, traders said the 4,000-quintal ceiling was unlikely to affect most genuine wholesalers, whose stocks generally remain below the prescribed limit.Pritam Singh, president of the Wholesale Sugar Traders Association, Jalandhar, attributed the steep price rise to inadequate supplies from sugar mills amid limited availability of sugarcane. He said sugar prices normally increase by Rs 200-500 per quintal ahead of the festive season, but this year the rise has already reached Rs 700-800 per quintal.Harsharan Singh Brar, District Food Supplies Controller, Jalandhar, said the department had received instructions from its headquarters in Chandigarh to ensure compliance with the stock restrictions. With festive demand expected to rise, traders said prices could remain elevated until fresh supplies arrive after the new sugar production season begins after October.