Milk producers across Mysuru district have not been spared from the impact of demonetisation.
The cooperative milk producers’ societies had been finding it difficult to pay producers once a week or 10 days upon getting payment to their respective bank accounts from the Mysore Milk Union owing to the ceiling fixed on cash withdrawal.
Since the withdrawal limit a week had been fixed at Rs. 24,000, the societies have been unable to withdraw sufficient cash to pay milk producers registered under it.
The producers’ are either given part payment or their consent taken to transfer money to their accounts if they don’t need the money immediately.
Though almost all the milk producers have bank accounts since the government subsidy of Rs. 4 a litre was directly credited to their accounts, the producers mostly prefer cash payments owing to limited banking facility.
Sources at the Mysuru Milk Union told The Hindu that the societies had been asked to manage the crisis locally and credit the producers’ payment to their accounts henceforth.
“Milk producers have been affected by the cash crisis. Each society gets at least Rs. 1 lakh a week as payment towards milk supply to the union. With the withdrawal limit being Rs. 24,000 a week, it is difficult to make payments to all,” the sources said.
About 89,580 milk producers are registered with the Mysuru union, which procures milk from them daily through the milk producers’ cooperative societies. Mysuru district alone has over 950 cooperative milk producers’ societies.
The union’s current daily milk procurement stands at 6.5 lakh litres. Production had been affected owing to drought and scarcity of fodder.
An officer at the Mysore Milk Union said that around Rs. 7 crore was paid to producers through their respective societies once a week or within 10 days. “By and large, cash transactions had been most preferred by the producers as many are averse to visiting banks for deposits or withdrawals. The currency crisis and restrictions in withdrawal for farmers’ cooperatives are being managed locally,” he said.
