Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Sunday chaired the review meeting of the Himachal Pradesh State Co-operative Milk Producer’s Federation Limited (HPMilkfed). He directed the officers to ensure timely completion of the construction of Dhagwar milk plant. The Chief Minister added that the state government was committed for welfare of the rural areas and its people by strengthening the rural economy of the state. “The activities related to milk production and processed items would play a pivotal role in this regard. The government was giving special preference and was whole-heartedly committed to provide all-out support to all the stake-holders of the rural economy,” stated Sukhu.
The Chief Minister further directed to increase the capacity of milk plants in Kullu, Nahan, Hamirpur and Una to 20,000 liters per plant, besides speeding up the registration of the milk production co-operatives and aiding the farmers in the registration process. He also asked to pay special attention on capacity building of farmers and on quality of milk production. Sukhu also directed to rationalize the milk marketing process and its transportation.
He said that the trademark of HPMilkfed “HIM” has been registered by the Government of India. The Chief Minister said that at present there are 1,148 village dairy co-operatives in the state having 47,905 members, including 19,388 women members. Similarly, there are 11 milk plants and 116 bulk milk coolers installed in the state. As a result of various initiatives by the HPMilkfed, the quality standards of milk collection have improved.
Agriculture Minister Prof. Chander Kumar said that registration of societies is absolutely necessary to strengthen milk related economy in the state and this would empower the farmers as well. He emphasized on paying special attention on quality production in order to strengthen the HPMilkfed.
Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, Secretary to the Chief Minister, Rakesh Kanwar, Managing Director HPMilkfed Dr. Vikas Sood, Director Animal Husbandry Department Dr. Pradeep Sharma, Senior Manager Preeti Arya and other senior officers were present in the meeting.
