Agriculture, Animal Husbandry Minister Chander Kumar called on Union Animal Husbandry and Fisheries Minister Parshottam Rupala at New Delhi today. The Minister requested the Union Minister for setting up a modern milk plant and its by-products in Himachal Pradesh through National Dairy Development Board (NDDB).
He said that according to the project report of the NDDB, a target has been set for 1415 Village Dairy Cooperative Societies (VDCS) in the area to make the new plant functional in Dhagwar. He said that the state government was providing various facilities and training to the milk producers for marketing as well.
He said that along with ensuring the quality of milk, efforts were being made by the federation to increase its procurement rate. The state government has announced the launch of the Him Ganga Scheme to strengthen the milk-based economy. Under this, a budgetary provision of Rs 500 crore has been made.
In the first phase, this scheme is being initiated on a pilot basis in Hamirpur and Kangra districts, he added. He also detailed the activities of the Himachal Pradesh State Cooperative Milk Producers Federation (MILKFED) and added that the state government is keen on promoting animal husbandry and dairy activities in the state for strengthening the economy of farmers.
The Agriculture Minister said that HP MILKFED was running dairy development activities in 11 districts. 1107 societies have been formed by the federation through which 47,259 milk producer beneficiaries were being benefited.
Presently MILKFED runs 22 milk chilling centers having capacity of 91,500 liters per day and 11 milk processing plants of 1.30 lakh liters per day capacity, one powder plant of 5 MT per day capacity at Duttnagar, Shimla and one cattle food plant of 16 MT per day capacity at Bhour in district Hamirpur.
The Union Minister assured of all possible assistance and asked to submit a detailed project report soon for taking further appropriate action in this respect. MLA Kewal Singh Pathania accompanied the Agriculture Minister.