CHENNAI: The Tamil Nadu government has been given a four-month deadline by the Madras High Court to instal milk scanners, lactometers, weighing machines and other necessary gadgets at all vans transporting milk to test the quality and quantity of milk at the initial point.
The Madurai Bench has directed the secretaries of Animal Husbandry, Dairy and Fisheries Development departments and the managing director of the Co-operative Milk Producers Federation in Madhavaram to ensure the order is complied with.
This shall be done within four months, said the First Bench of Chief Justice Indira Banerjee and Justice J Nisha Banu, while delivering an order on a PIL from Kumar, president of TYD Co-operative Milk Producers Society in Pandavamangalam, Thoothukudi district, while sitting at Madurai bench recently.
The consumers have a right to be supplied milk of requisite standard and it is imperative that the quality and quantity of milk be checked at the first point, the Bench said.
The PIL prayed for a direction to ensure that the gadgets were provided in the vans.
“Milk is an essential commodity. The ultimate consumers are primarily the children, apart from the sick and the convalescents in need of nutrition.
The consumers have a right to be supplied with milk of requisite standard. To pinpoint the source of adulteration and manipulation, it is imperative that the quality and quantity of milk be checked at the first point of collection and thereafter again before packaging. Testing the quality of milk using lactometer or milk scanner will take just a few minutes and the submission that it would cause delay cannot be accepted, the Bench added and gave the direction.