Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T.B. Jayachandra, who also holds the portfolio of Animal Husbandry, has said the State government will soon bring in a legislation against adulteration of milk. He told presspersons here on Monday that the issue was a very serious one. The government was getting disturbing reports about rampant adulteration of the milk supplied by private dairies in neighbouring States.
‘Evident in districts’“This problem is more evident in the border districts……we are concerned about this and we will end it.”
Mr. Jayachandra said the proposed legislation would have stringent provisions to provide maximum punishment to those involved in adulterating milk. The State government had been keeping a close watch on the milk coming into the State, and there were regular quality checks. “The reports on quality checks were disturbing,” he said.
‘Pressure on VCI’The Minister said the State government was putting pressure on the Veterinary Council of India (VCI) to recognise the admissions made in the Government Veterinary Colleges in Hassan and Shimoga from 2009 to 2012. The issue was likely to be taken up at the executive council meeting of the council in New Delhi on Tuesday and discussed before final approval was given at the general body meeting.
Blaming the previous Bharatiya Janata Party government, which started the two veterinary colleges without the required infrastructure, for the present muddle, Mr. Jayachandra said the present government had spent Rs. 260 crore on improving the infrastructure and rectifying the defects pointed out by the VCI (the recognition accorded to the Bidar college was also suspended by the VCI).
He said the State government was successful in getting the VCI nod for admissions made in 2013 and 2014 in all four government veterinary colleges. To a question on whether there was a proposal to start more veterinary colleges, the Minister said: “We will first stabilise and strengthen the existing colleges before considering opening new colleges.”
There are 2,250 vacant posts of veterinary surgeons. The government recruited 350 surgeons recently and the process of recruiting another 250 has begun.
