Strap: The Central govt-run dairy board projects a profit of ₹84 crore in the next five years for the Maha cooperative
The state cabinet on Wednesday gave its nod to hand over the cooperative milk brand, Mahanand, to the Central government-run National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) for its revival over the next five years.
The NDDB, headquartered in Gujarat, had submitted a proposal to take over the loss-making cooperative with a mandate to dissolve its existing board and implement a voluntary retirement scheme for at least half of the 940 employees.
“NDDB will take over as administrator of Mahanand for the next five years by appointing a managing committee, which will be headed by the secretary of the dairy development department. The proposal submitted by the NDDB has projected a profit of ₹84 crore in the next five years,” a statement issued by the government said and added the state would contribute ₹254 crore towards its rejuvenation.
Tukaram Mundhe, secretary of animal husbandry and dairy development department, said, “The brand Mahanand will remain intact, and the ownership will remain with Maharashtra.”
Mahanand is run by the Maharashtra Rajya Sahakari Dudh Mahasangh Maryadit (MRSDMM), an apex federation of district/taluka milk unions, that was established to implement the Operation Flood programme in the state. MRSDMM procures milk from the member milk unions at remunerative rates and distributes it to consumers at reasonable prices.
It was established in 1983 in Aarey Milk Colony by MRSDMM. At one time, it was a profit-making business, with a share of nine lakh litres in the milk distribution business in Mumbai and other parts of the state. Later, its collection dipped below one lakh litres daily and it ran into losses.
On December 28, Mahanand’s board of directors passed a resolution to hand over the dairy to NDDB, and a proposal was sent to the state dairy development department for approval. The board has also sought ₹130 crore for a voluntary retirement scheme for its employees, since NDDB has indicated that it can accommodate only 350 of the dairy’s 940 employees.
While the state claims the objective is to revive the cooperative brand, the opposition has slammed the government, calling the move as an attempt to shift one more key Maharashtra project to Gujarat and hand over the dairy’s 50-acre land in Goregaon to a developer. Significantly, entry of Gujarat-based Amul milk brand in Karnataka had kicked up a political row ahead of the assembly elections in April 2023.
On Wednesday, the state cabinet also gave its approval to raise soft loans of more than ₹1.30 lakh crore in the financial year 2024-25 for infrastructure development. The state government will repay the loans, which will be made available by the Central government, after 50 years.
