Will continue process of increasing rate of milk: CM

· Digital system for milk procurement to be created by March 31, 2025: CM

· CM inaugurates new milk processing plant in Duttnagar, better products will be prepared

· CM said, every challenge was overcome with blessings of Gods, Goddesses and public

Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu today inaugurated the new milk processing plant of Milkfed with a capacity of 50 thousand liters per day, built at a cost of Rs. 25.67 crore in Duttnagar of Rampur Assembly constituency. A plant of 20 thousand liters capacity is already installed here, increasing the total capacity of this unit to 70 thousand liters per day. Flavored milk, khoya, ghee, butter, paneer, lassi and curd will be produced in this plant. The Chief Minister said that the milk producers of four districts Shimla, Kullu, Mandi and Kinnaur will benefit from the increase in the capacity of the plant. He said that this will benefit about 20 thousand farmers associated with 271 milk cooperative societies of the area.

Sukhu appealed to the officials of Himachal Pradesh Milk Federation to adopt modern technology and said that by 31st March 2025, a digital system should be started which will bring transparency in the purchase of milk and farmers will be provided information about the quality and price of their milk through SMS. Under this system, real time data of milk purchase should be available and farmers can receive money directly in their bank accounts.

He said that the first point of the budget of state government was to strengthen the rural economy so that the income of the farmer families improves and they could live a good life. He said that the ‘Vyavashta Parivartan’ of the present state government envisages that the people can live a better life in their villages. Improvements are being made in all the government departments so that people could get better facilities. He said, “I have never worked for political gain. I come from an ordinary family and my mother also does farming in the village. No farmer came to me with the demand to increase the price of milk, but I increased the rate of milk by Rs. 13-15 to strengthen the economy of the people of the village.”

The Chief Minister said that the state government has increased the MNREGA wages by a historic Rs. 60 to Rs. 300. Along with this, maize produced through natural farming is being purchased at the rate of Rs. 30 and wheat at the rate of Rs. 40 per kg. He said that the purchase of maize has started and the purchase of wheat would also be started from the next season. He said that the people of the village also have rights over the state’s wealth, for which the state government is strengthening the rural economy.