BENGALURU: CM Siddaramaiah on Monday said the Karnataka government will decide on increasing milk prices after placing the proposal before the Cabinet. He, however, said the purpose of milk unions is to help farmers and not make a profit.
Siddaramaiah met representatives of various milk unions and office-bearers of the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) in Bengaluru on Monday and elicited opinions from them. He said the profit has to be transferred to farmers.
“This is the government’s stand,” he said.
The CM instructed the unions to reduce their expenses and advised them not to hire more people than required on contract.
“This is increasing expenses, and such unnecessary expenses have pushed unions towards losses,” he said.
Three milk unions are facing losses. The CM told them that their administration expenses should not cross 2% of their overall expenditure and set a three-month deadline to reduce their expenses.
Meanwhile, the CM said that milk prices in Karnataka are lower than in other states. KMF Chairman Bhima Naik told reporters that a decission has already been taken to increase milk price. Naik said they have not decided whether to increase it by Rs 3 per litre or Rs 5. The Cabinet will decide it on Thursday, he said.