THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Milma has sustained a loss of Rs 75.5 lakh in connection with its Sabarimala supply owing to pricing below the wholesale rate, Animal Husbandry Minister Bindhu Krishnan told the assembly on Friday.
Replying to questions, she said Milma Thiruvananthapuram region had supplied 1.55 lakh litres of pure ghee to Sabarimala at a rate of Rs 510 which was way less than the wholesale price of Rs 555 and market price of Rs 720 per litres.
She said the preliminary inquiries revealed serious anomalies and the regional unit has been disbanded.
According to the minister, there have been reports of replacing original Milma ghee with substandard ones sourced from Tamil Nadu in transit. The contract to transport the ghee and the wholesale dealership to sell it in Sabarimala were given to a private company.
The ghee, according to her, sent from Pathanamthitta dairy was switched with inferior ghee and sold under Milma label. The original Milma ghee that was swapped was later sold in open market at market price and crores of Rupees were made this way.She said the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau has been conducting a probe on these matters and the department has transferred all the files to the investigators.
She also informed that the department will introduce measures to ensure foolproof transportation of ghee from the plants to Sabarimala.
Devaswom Minister K Muraleedharan informed the assembly that the Devaswom Board has informed the government about the decision to test ghee at Pampa to ensure its quality before allowing it into Sannidhanam.