Chief Minister Sukhu, while presiding over a high-level review meeting of the Animal Husbandry Department, directed the formation of dairy cooperative societies across Himachal Pradesh on a mission mode. Emphasizing their role in rural employment and self-employment, the CM said these cooperatives can significantly boost the dairy sector and help strengthen the rural economy.
Currently, dairy cooperative societies are operational in 910 panchayats, and the Chief Minister urged the department to intensify efforts to expand their reach across the state.
The Chief Minister reviewed the progress of the upcoming Dagwar Milk Processing Plant in Kangra district and directed the formation of a monitoring committee to speed up its completion. This plant, with a capacity of 1.5 lakh litres per day and a cost of ₹225 crore, is expected to be operational by June 2026. It will benefit farmers from Kangra, Una, Hamirpur, and Chamba districts.
To further augment milk procurement and processing capacity, the state plans to set up six new milk and chilling plants in:
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Jhalera (Una)
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Jhaladi (Hamirpur)
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Nahan (Sirmaur)
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Mohal (Kullu)
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Nalagarh (Solan)
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Rohru (Shimla)
These will be developed with an estimated investment of ₹120 crore.
CM Sukhu reiterated the government’s commitment to support dairy farmers. He highlighted the increase in Minimum Support Price (MSP) to ₹51 per litre for cow milk and ₹61 per litre for buffalo milk, which has contributed to a 17% rise in MILKFED milk procurement over the past three years.
He also directed MILKFED to actively promote ‘Him-Ghee’ made from Pahari cow milk as a premium product to ensure better returns for farmers.
The CM also reviewed the progress of ‘Gau Sadan’ projects being set up across the state for stray cattle care and urged officials to expedite the work.
The meeting was attended by Health Minister Col. (Dr.) Dhani Ram Shandil, Animal Husbandry Minister Chander Kumar, MLA Chander Shekhar, senior advisors, secretaries, and senior officials of the Animal Husbandry Department and MILKFED.
