Chennai: Tamil Nadu Chief Minister M.K.Stalin today sought the urgent intervention of Union Home Minister Amit Shah to direct Amul to desist from milk procurement from the milk shed area of State-owned Aavin in Tamil Nadu with immediate effect.
In a Demi-Official letter to Mr Shah, copies of which were released to the media here, he said this act of Amul infringes on Aavin’s milk shed area which has been nurtured in true cooperative spirit over decades.
“This move by Amul will create unhealthy competition between cooperatives engaged in procuring and marketing milk and milk products”, he added.
Mr Stalin said regional cooperatives have been the bedrock of dairy development in the states and they are better placed to engage and nurture producers and to cushion consumers from arbitrary price hikes.
Stating that till now, Amul was just selling their products through their outlets in the State, the Chief Minister said in Tamil Nadu, like in other States with strong dairy cooperatives, a three-tier dairy cooperative system is functioning effectively since 1981 for the benefit of the rural milk producers and consumers.
“Aavin is our apex cooperative marketing federation. Under the ambit of Aavin co-operative, 9,673 Milk Producers Co-operative Societies are functioning in rural areas. They procure 35 LLPD of milk from about 4.5 lakh pouring members. Under this current arrangement, the milk producers are assured of remunerative and uniform prices throughout the year by the cooperative societies”, he pointed ut.
To increase and sustain milk production in Tamil Nadu, Aavin also provides various inputs such as cattle feed, fodder, mineral mixture, animal health care and breeding services for animals of milk producers, he said.
“In addition, it ensures the supply of quality milk and milk products to consumers at one of the lowest prices in our country”, Mr Stalin said and added that, Aavin plays a vital role in improving the livelihood of rural milk producers and the meeting the nutritional requirement of consumers.
“Recently, it has come to our notice that the Kaira District Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union (Amul), has utilised their multi-state cooperative license, to install chilling centres and a processing plant in Krishnagiri District and has planned to procure milk through FPOs and SHGs in and around Krishnagiri, Dharmapuri, Vellore, Ranipet, Tiruppatur, Kancheepuram and Tiruvallur districts of Tamil Nadu.
It has been a norm in India to let cooperatives thrive without infringing on each other’s milk-shed area. Such cross-procurement goes against the spirit of ‘Operation White Flood’ and will exacerbate problems for the consumers given the prevailing milk shortage scenario in the country., the Chief Minister said. and sought the intervention of Mr Amit Shah to direct Amul to desist from milk procurement from the milk shed area of Aavin in Tamil Nadu with immediate effect.
