BENGALURU: Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar on Saturday defended the state government’s decision to raise milk prices, saying the hike was unavoidable given falling production and the need to keep dairy farmers in the state.
Explaining the move, Shivakumar pointed out that even with the proposed increase of Rs 12, prices in neighbouring states remain considerably higher. "Otherwise, our farmers will shift from here to there," he said, warning that farmers could leave Karnataka’s dairy sector for markets offering better returns, since this dairy farming sector is ultimately market driven.
The Chief Minister reminded that milk production in the state was also declining because of drought. "So we have no other option," he said.
Linking the price rise to cattle welfare, Shivakumar said protecting cows required adequate feed, which in turn depended on the financial health of farmers.
"If we have to protect cows, if we have to do Go-Rakshana, we have to give good food to the cows. To give food, we have to give fodder. To give fodder, the farmer has to be well off; he must have money. Only when the farmer has money will he give it. Otherwise, he will reduce it," he said.
"We have to do the work of giving respect to Go-Mata. We have to save Go-Mata in this drought period," he added.
The Chief Minister said the decision came after prolonged deliberation, as prices had not been revised for many years.
"From that point of view, after thinking very deeply, for many years there was no price increase; that is why we have taken this decision," he said.
Clarifying the scope of the revision, Shivakumar said the government had regulated only the price of milk and not other dairy products. "We will not revise the price of curd and other milk products. We have only revised the milk price," he said.
On packaging, he said rates for larger packs would be fixed accordingly and would be higher than the base rate. "Regarding the pack, if the pack is bigger, they will fix a rate for it; it will go above that. So please keep this in mind," he said
