White paper on Aavin management to be released soon: Minister Vijayalakshmi

CHENNAI: Milk and Dairy Development Minister C Vijayalakshmi on Wednesday announced in the Assembly that a white paper on the management of Aavin would be released soon, while accusing the previous government of mismanaging the dairy cooperative and pushing it into financial difficulties.

Speaking during the debate on the demands for grants, Vijayalakshmi said India was the world's largest milk producer and Tamil Nadu contributed 4.16 per cent of the country's total milk production. The State ranked 11th in milk production in the country, she said.

The Minister said Aavin procured milk worth around Rs 13 crore every day from milk producers, amounting to nearly Rs 5,000 crore annually. However, she alleged that mismanagement under the previous regime had adversely affected Aavin's financial position as well as milk procurement.

She said the number of milk producers' cooperative unions in the State had declined from 9,470 to 8,851, while the number of milk producers fell from 4.25 lakh to 3.16 lakh.

According to the Minister, Aavin had outstanding dues of Rs 255 crore towards milk procured from farmers and a debt of Rs 482 crore to the State government. She further alleged that Aavin's annual loss had increased from Rs 603 crore to Rs 1,275 crore during the previous regime.

Vijayalakshmi said the government would soon release a white paper detailing Aavin's financial and administrative position. She also announced that a committee would be constituted to inquire into the alleged mismanagement of Aavin during the previous government, and action would be taken according to that committee report.