Complete civil works of milk plant at Dagwar within one and half years: Sukhu
Chief Minister Thakur Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu while presiding over a meeting with National Dairy Development Board (DNDDB) representatives here today said that a state-of-the-art fully automatic milk processing plant would be set up in Dagwar of Kangra district with a capacity of 1.5 lakh litre per day in collaboration with NDDB. The foundation stone for this project will be laid shortly.
He said that in its first phase, the plant would be constructed with an investment of Rs. 180 crore, which will produce a wide range of dairy products, including curd, lassi, butter, ghee, paneer, flavoured milk, khoya and mozzarella cheese.
“This initiative would go a long way in bolstering the rural economy by purchasing milk directly from farmers in Chamba, Hamirpur, Kangra and Una districts. The state government is emphasizing the importance of transparency in milk procurement, ensuring that farmers receive the full benefits of their hard work. To facilitate this, an investment of Rs. 43 crore will be made for strengthening the milk procurement network, with a target of purchasing 2.74 lakh litre of milk daily to sustain the plant’s operations”, said Sh. Sukhu.
· State-of-the-art fully automatic milk processing plant soon
· Rs. 180 crore investment in first phase for construction
· Rs. 43 crore will be invested to strengthen milk procurement network
The Chief Minister said that under the second phase, the production of milk powder, ice cream, and various types of cheese at the Dagwar Milk Processing Plant will start. He directed to complete the civil works of this plant within one and a half years.
The present State Government is committed to purchasing cow’s milk at Rs. 80 per liter and buffalo’s milk at Rs. 100 per liter from farmers as promised in the Congress Pratigya Patra during the assembly elections, he reiterated and emphasized the State Government’s dedication to promoting the dairy-based industry within the state, underlining the significance of this initiative for both agricultural development and economic growth of the state.
NDDB Chairman Dr. Meenesh Shah made a detailed presentation on the project and assured to provide all possible help in setting up this plant.
Health Minister, Dr. (Col.) Dhani Ram Shandil, Agriculture Minister, Prof. Chander Kumar, Industries Minister, Harshvardhan Chauhan, MLAs, Vinay Kumar and Inder Dutt Lakhanpal, Principal Advisor, Ram Subhag Singh, Secretary, Rakesh Kanwar, former MLA, Satpal Raizada, PPS to Chief Minister Vivek Bhatia and other dignitaries were also present in the meeting.
