The government also announced that farmers would get an additional ₹3 per litre to encourage dairy farming and address production cost.
Published Jul 29, 2023 | 7:59 AM ⚊ Updated Jul 29, 2023 | 7:59 AM
The Karnataka government has approved the hike of milk price by ₹3 per litre effective from 1 August. (Creative Commons)
The Karnataka government’s approval for a hike of ₹3 per litre in milk prices, starting from 1 August, has left the people of Karnataka with no choice but to spend more on this essential commodity.
It is expected to put an additional strain on their monthly expenses and affect households across the state.
However, farmers are expressing relief about the decision.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah held a meeting on 21 June with the Minister for Cooperative KN Rajanna, Minister for Animal Husbandry K Venkatesh, Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) Chairman and former MLA Bheema Naik, and all the other stakeholders regarding hiking the milk price.
All the milk unions demanded an increase in milk prices by ₹5 per litre. However, at the Cabinet meeting held on Friday, 28 July, the Siddaramaiah government approved a hike of ₹3 per litre. The new price will come into effect from 1 August.
At present, one litre of KMF’s Nandini-brand toned milk is priced at ₹39 per litre.
The government also announced that an additional amount of ₹3 per litre would be given to farmers to encourage dairy farming and address the production cost.
Apart from this, the government also took 14 other decisions, including the formation of the Karnataka State Highway Control and Development Authority, which the chief minister will be heading.
The milk price hike news brought immense relief to dairy farmers across Karnataka. The Siddaramaiah government’s decision partially met their demands after a long and persistent struggle for five years.
Alagur Milk Producer Cooperative Society Secretary Neminath Borganvi told South First, “We have been tirelessly advocating for a fair increase in milk prices to sustain our livelihood and businesses. The production cost has surged rapidly in the last five years.”
He noted: “The government has not increased the milk price since 2018. We were demanding an increase anywhere between ₹5 and ₹10 per litre, but the government agreed to hike it by ₹3 per litre.”
Borganvi, who has been in the dairy business for the last two decades, added: “We welcome this decision from the state government. This will reduce the burden to a certain extent on the dairy farmers.”
Detailing the production cost, he explained, “For each litre of buffalo and cow milk, the production cost stands at ₹35 and ₹25, respectively. It has gone up because of the increase in the price of fodder and transportation.”
He added, “At present, the government is paying ₹42 per litre for buffalo milk and ₹32 per litre for cow milk. Apart from this, It is also offering an incentive of ₹5 per litre. The additional ₹3 per litre will help farmers.”
He also recalled that Siddaramaiah, during his previous tenure, increased the incentive from ₹2 to ₹5 per litre.
Borganvi, however, opposed the state government’s decision to discontinue the Pradhan Mantri Kisan Samman Scheme, as part of which farmers used to get ₹4,000 a year.
This was introduced when BS Yediyurappa was at the helm of the state in 2019. The Union government provides ₹6,000 per year of financial assistance to all the farmers.
KMF officials have listed various factors for hiking the milk rate, including encouragement to dairy farming.
KMF Managing Director MK Jagadish told South First, “Dairy farming witnessed a dip in recent years. There has been a surge in production costs as raw materials’ prices have gone up, and private players are offering higher prices than the KMF. These led to the increase in milk price.”
He added: “In the last few months, the procurement of milk from farmers went down by a whopping 10 lakh litres. It used to be over 93 lakh litres per day. Now it has come down to around 83 lakh litres per day.” That is a drop of almost 11 percent.
“The additional amount of ₹3 per litre will be given to farmers to encourage dairy farming. We believe that this will encourage more farmers to take up dairy farming, resulting in an increase in production,” said Jagadish.
He also said that the KMF was producing toned milk at a loss of ₹1.47 per litre. “We are producing toned milk at a loss. The payment to farmers for each litre of milk they supply varies according to the region. An average of ₹33-35 per litre is being paid to farmers in the state,” Jagadish said.
According to the KMF, it procures milk “from over 22,000 villages”.
It added: “There are over 14,000 milk cooperative societies in the state. Over 24 lakh farmers are into dairy farming. There are 14 milk unions in the state. Over ₹17 crore payment per day is made to farmers for supplying milk.”
Jagadish also said that the KMF would hike the price of all the products, including curd and desserts, from 1 August.
Chief Minister Siddaramaiah and Deputy Chief Minister DK Shivakumar defended the price hike of milk by stating that it would benefit farmers.
Siddaramaiah told reporters on Friday, “Karnataka is selling milk at the lowest price. It is much higher in the other states.”
He added: “The milk (toned) that costs ₹39 will be sold at ₹42 per litre. In other states, it is sold between ₹54 and ₹56 per litre. In Tamil Nadu, the price is ₹44 per litre.”
Commenting on the decision, Shivakumar said, “We have to give money to the farmers (milk producers).”
Stating that the government discussed 15 subjects in the Cabinet meeting, Minister for Law and Parliamentary Affairs HK Patil said, “Approval has been granted for a proposal to construct roads for APMC (Agricultural Produce Market Committee) yards with a budget of ₹130.40 crore.”
He added: “This allocation aims to provide essential facilities to the APMC traders. The decision to purchase and distribute eggs has been finalised, and an allocation of ₹297 crore has been made for this purpose.”
The minister also said: “To audit any irregularities in stone quarrying areas, a decision has been made to take appropriate action against those who are involved in unauthorised activities. A committee will be formed under the leadership of the chief minister to address these issues and a penalty of ₹6,105 crore has been collected from the offenders.”
He further said, “As per the recommendations of the National Commission for Backward Classes and the advice of the court, it has been decided to make a change in category 3A of the caste list, from ‘Kodagu’ to ‘Kodava’ or ‘Kodavaru’.”
Patil added: “The construction of the Charaka Super Specialty Hospital at the Shivajinagar Atal Medical College has been approved with an estimated budget of ₹22.70 crore. Furthermore, ₹26 crore has been allocated for the construction of multiple annex buildings for Nephrology in the Victoria Hospital premises.”
He also said: “Approval has been granted for the formation of the State Highway Control and Development Authority. A study will also be undertaken for the formation of the Green Zone surrounding national parks and wildlife sanctuaries.”
Patil added: “A total of 67 prisoners will be released on parole, based on their conduct. The decision to release these prisoners has been made following the guidelines of the Indian government. Their release will coincide with Independence Day celebrations.”
A total of 24 prisoners would be released from Bengaluru Central Jail, followed by eight from Mysuru, two from Belagavi, five from Kalaburagi, six from Shivamogga, eight from Ballari, and two from Dharwad.
Meanwhile, the Karnataka State Road Transport Corporation hiked the tariffs of casual contract bus services from Thursday. However, KSRTC officials denied that the government had increased the ticket tariff.
