Kerala: Expert committee recommends reducing milk producers’ unions
An expert committee appointed by the government to study dairy cooperatives in the state has recommended reducing the number of regional milk producers’ unions from three to two.
Published: 24th May 2018 01:16 AM | Last Updated: 24th May 2018 03:05 AM | A+A A-
Image for representational purpose only.
THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: An expert committee appointed by the government to study dairy cooperatives in the state has recommended reducing the number of regional milk producers’ unions from three to two. The committee headed by retired IAS officer Lida Jacob, in an interim report, has recommended merging the Thiruvananthapuram and Kochi unions while retaining the Malabar union.
The report, on the other hand, favours retaining the three-tier system in the dairy sector composed of primary cooperatives, regional milk producer unions and, at the top, the Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (KCMMF - Milma). The interim report contains 25 recommendations, including a proposal to entrust the appointments to the regional unions with the PSC.
According to Lida Jacob, the three unions together handled only 12 lakh litres a day, a substantially small volume when compared to other states. "So do we need such a big system?" she said, on the recommendation to reduce the number of regional unions to two. Forests and Dairy Development Minister K Raju, who accepted the report from the committee on Wednesday, said the government would examine the report and implement the recommendations that are viable.
The committee has also recommended the introduction of a common cadre for appointments to the posts of assistant managers and above in the federation and regional unions to bring in professionalism.Other recommendations include periodical performance and technical audits in the federation and unions and a comprehensive assessment of their finances in the past five years.
