Karnataka cabinet to decide on milk price hike on July 27: Minister
KALABURAGI: The Karnataka Cabinet, which will meet in Bengaluru on Thursday, will decide the quantum of a hike for the price of milk, said Cooperation Minister KN Rajanna here on Wednesday.
He told the media that the Karnataka Milk Federation (KMF) had asked the government for a hike of Rs 5 per litre. But most ministers are in favour of Rs 3. The cabinet meeting on Thursday will, however, decide the quantum of the hike, he added.
KMF Chairman Bhima Naik said that he and his team on July 21 met Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, who wanted the hike to be Rs 3 per litre. “We are confident that the increase would be Rs 3,” he added.
The government has proposed to regularise the services of secretaries/executive officers working in the Vyavasaya Seva Sahakara Sangha (VSSN) and Milk Producers Cooperative Societies as per the Vaidyanathan committee report. Milk producers’ cooperative societies have around 16,500 secretaries and VSSNs have around 5,500 secretaries.
Earlier, reviewing the performance of the cooperative department in the Kalaburagi region, he warned senior officials that banks in the cooperative sector will go bankrupt if they fail to recover loans. “When you give a loan, it is your responsibility to recover it. While recovering, you should follow the guidelines given by the courts and department,” he said.
Rajanna said that the people’s perception of DCC Banks is bad and bank officials should take steps to change that opinion. Officers should not think that their duty ends by providing loans and recovering them. Organising programmes like ‘Consumer Day’ will help build a good opinion about the banks, he felt.
He said the government is planning to construct its own buildings for the cooperative department as most offices are now functioning out of rented accommodation.