Welfare, family pensions of dairy farmers enhanced

Next State Budget to include required funds: Minister

Minister for Forests and Dairy Development K. Raju inaugurating a meet of dairy farmers at Elavumthitta, near Aranmula, on Tuesday.

The welfare pension of dairy farmers will be enhanced from ₹1,200 to ₹1,500, Minister for Forests and Dairy Development K. Raju has said.

Inaugurating a meet of dairy farmers at Elavumthitta, near Aranmula, on Tuesday evening, Mr. Raju said the next State Budget would include the fund required for enhancement of their welfare pension. Similarly, their family pension would be increased from ₹150 to ₹550. The Minister declared Mezhuveli, near Aranmula, a dairy village under the government’s Ksheera Gramam project. The project is being implemented by the State Dairy Development Department.

Sanctioned

Mr Raju said the government has sanctioned ₹10 crore for 10 dairy villages in the State and Mezhuveli will get ₹50 lakh.

According to him, Pathanamthitta produces 2.5 lakh litres of milk a day and the district would be self-reliant in milk production once this production is stepped up to 3 lakh litres a day.

He said the department has launched the dairy development project aimed at producing not less than 50,000 litres of milk a day.

The dairy village project would help Mezhuveli to enhance the quality of milk and increase the milk production in the village, besides facilitating nutritious fodder to the cattle, he said.

Mr Raju said ₹400 crore has been provided to local self-government institutions in the State for dairy development.

Veena George, MLA, presided. Annapoornadevi, district panchayat president; N.Rajan, Dairy Farmers’ Welfare Board chairman; K.C.Rajagopal, former MLA; K.S.Indushekharan Nair, Kerala Feed Limited chairman; Kallada Ramesh, TRCMPU chairman; Rekha Anil, Pandalam block panchayat president; and Elizabeth Abu, district panchayat member, were felicitated in recognition of their contribution for dairy development in Mezhuveli.