Even 67 paisa matters if it’s not accounted for

Milk-collecting centers skim profits from each liter of milk they buy

The milk-collecting center at Gariyapalya

By Bhanu Teja

BANGALORE (Oct. 4)—Milk-collecting centers in villages under the Bangalore Milk Union are paying farmers Rs. 18 for a liter of milk instead of the government rate of Rs. 18.67.

The Nandini milk brand, marketed by state Karnataka Milk Federation is the single largest milk producer in Karnataka.

The federation has milk centers in the villages that collect milk and send it to cold storage. The state government fixes the rate to be given to dairy farmers who contribute milk to the centers.

Siphoned cash said for ‘development, transportation’

In the village of Gollahalli in the Bangalore suburbs, a milk center collects nearly 400 liters of milk a day.

The milk center pays only Rs. 18 per liter to contributing farmers. The center keeps the other 67 paisa, which earns it Rs. 268 a day. No records are kept on how this money is spent. The center says the money is kept for “development and transportation.”

The same situation obtains in Gonipura, a village next to Gollahalli whose milk center, which has been operating for around 20 years, collects 2,000 liters a day, from which it skims Rs. 3,400.

Milk is measured at the Golahalli milk-collecting center.

‘They give us Rs. 18, and we take it’

Gariyanapalya, a village nearby, pays its milk contributors Rs. 18.50. It collects nearly 400 liters of milk a day.

Narayana, an employee of the collecting center said: “The van comes from the storage center and takes the milk daily. We don’t need to set money aside for transportation expenses.”

As for the Golahalli milk center’s claim that the 67 paisa it retains for itself from payment for each liter of milk is used for “development” purposes, Narayana had this to say: “Development! What do you develop in this center? It’s an everyday routine.”

Anjappa, a dairy farmer from Gonipura, said, “We didn’t know that the government rate is Rs. 18.67. They give us Rs. 18, and we take it.”

Official: Money not needed for development purposes

Byregowda, an official of the Bangalore Milk Union, told The SoftCopy, “There are about 45 milk-collecting centers under the union, and they are supposed to pay Rs. 18.67 as per the [state] government rate.

Farmers deliver milk to the milk-collecting center in Golahalli.

“The milk centers are usually run by each village, which forms a committee that’s monitored by the union. It’s up to them to make sure that the [correct] price is paid.

“However, there are many centers that don’t do that, saying they keep the extra amount for ‘development.’ But they don’t need it, as they are already established. The money is kept by the centers’ members.”

A dairy farmer said, “I know that they give less money than the government price, but if I asked for the correct price, the milk-collecting center’s members would say I was refusing to support the development of the center.”