In a double delight for farmers, chief minister Raghubar Das on Thursday morning commissioned Jharkhand's biggest dairy plant in Hotwar, Ranchi, and in the afternoon, laid the foundation of a fruits and vegetables processing plant in Kanke block of the district.
Touring the dairy before the formal launch, Das hailed it as a state-of-the-art facility. He said they were planning to set up similar plants in Deoghar and the Kolhan region in collaboration with NDDB "to lay a network of milk routes and turnaround the socio-economic status of farmers living in the remotest parts of the state".
Built with an investment of Rs 19 crore, the fully automated dairy plant boasts an expansion capacity of up to 1.2 lakh litres, officials said. The National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) completed the project, sprawling over 47 acres, in record time of a year.
While the plant has a one-stop control hub, it is equipped with modern conveyor belts and a pasteuriser unit that can kill bacteria in 10,000 litres of milk at a time.
Among the units that are ready is one where paneer, curd, lassi and ghee will be produced. Also ready are three cold storages with a combined capacity to hold 1.10 lakh litre of milk and its allied products.
Dedicating the plant to dairy farmers in the state, the chief minister urged every citizen and villager to drink milk and eat milk products under Medha, the indigenous brand under Jharkhand State Cooperative Milk Producers Federation. "When you start consuming, the money will go to our poor farmers. You get quality milk and milk products and farmers get a livelihood. This circle will put the state on the road to progress."
Sharing a thought from Prime Minister Narendra Modi, Das said, "When the government gives rebate to industries, it is called incentive; but when it gives the same to the poor, why is it called subsidy? I think the subsidy culture should end. From now on, we will focus on giving incentives to farmers."
Present on the occasion were NDDB chairman T. Nandkumar, state agriculture minister Randhir Kumar Singh, Ranchi MP Ram Tahal Choudhary, agriculture secretary Nitin Madan Kulkarni and the chief minister's secretary Sunil K. Barnwal, besides hundreds of farmers from across the state.
Nandkumar underscored that no one should think that the plant belonged to NDDB.
"It is your plant, your property, we are only caretakers for five years. Our aim is to ensure scientific and transparent collection of milk and make payments to you weekly, bi-weekly. So, you should connect with us and form a co-operative," he told farmers.
Das agreed. He said through the government's "cow distribution scheme", farmers would be motivated to form co-operatives.
On the food processing plant, managing director of Jharkhand milk federation B.S. Khanna said it would be set up by Mother Dairy on 27 acres in Titratoli village of Nagri in Kanke block. Mother Dairy will invest around Rs 70 crore for setting up the plant to yield products under Brand Safal or a new local brand if decided later.
"Initially, peas and tomato will be marketed. Frozen peas, tomato puree and pastes are some of the items that will be made available first.
Later, vegetables like cabbage and beans will be available along with fruits like mango and guava," Khanna said, adding that tentatively it would take around two years for the plant to start functioning.