The plant will be built at a cost of about Rs 80 crore in 18 months, ending Jharkhand’s dependency on states like Assam and Chhattisgarh.
In a major step toward dairy self-sufficiency, Chief Minister Hemant Soren laid the foundation stone for Jharkhand’s first milk powder plant here on Friday. The Medha Milk Powder Plant will be built at a cost of about Rs 80 crore in 18 months. This will end Jharkhand’s dependency on states like Assam and Chhattisgarh to make milk powder in case of surplus milk.
Agriculture Minister Shilpi Neha Tirkey expressed happiness and said that this plant will produce 20 metric tonnes of milk powder per day. Addressing the farmers, Chief Minister Soren invoked the ‘Jai Jawan Jai Kisan’ slogan, terming it powerful and inspiring.
“There is only profit in farming and animal husbandry; there is some loss or the other from other industries, but farming is such a system in which there is neither environmental damage nor economic loss,” he said.
Soran said that there was a time when there were so many animals in the village that people could not get out of the houses, but today the situation is the opposite. “The number of animals has decreased significantly, due to which the women of the state are struggling with diseases like malnutrition,” he said.
“In the era of inflation, there are problems, but you do not have to worry about it; the government is with you. The state government is continuously making plans to fulfil your dreams,” he said. “Earlier, farmers had to face a lot of trouble if their animals fell sick and died, but now the animals given by the state government will be insured,” the CM said.
The state produces 60 lakh litres of milk per day, out of which 2.50 lakh litres are lifted by Medha Dairy. Now, the CM Soren hinted at increasing milk collection centres in the state and said that if this pace of milk production continues, Jharkhand will become self-sufficient in the next five years, The state government is also encouraging the producers by giving a bonus of Rs 5 instead of Rs 2.
National Dairy Board Chairman Dr Meenesh Shah also addressed this programme. On this occasion, cheques were also distributed among milk-producing farmers.
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