Rural Development Minister K. C. Joseph has said that Milma has no choice but to hike the price of milk.
Milma had already submitted a suggestion in this regard, Mr. Joseph, said while speaking at a conference of presidents and parliamentary party leaders in the local bodies and office-bearers of the Congress party in north Kerala here on Saturday.
The Minister said that the situation in the State warranted a revision in the price of milk. The decision of the Milma authorities could not be reconsidered at this juncture.
Dairy farmers should be satisfactorily remunerated. A huge gap existed in the expenditure in milk production and prices farmers got. The price of fodder also increased multi-fold, he said.
Many farmers were unable to withstand the situation. Revision in prices of milk was inevitable, Mr. Joseph said.
He said that the State government would take immediate steps for improving the Mahatma Gandhi National Rural Employment Guarantee Scheme. All pending accounts would be settled within three days.
Such anomalies could be avoided only if the State governments were empowered to take independent decisions on Central schemes, the Minister added.
