CHENNAI: Owing to rising subsidy costs, Aavin has suspended issuance of full cream milk (FCM) cards to consumers for monthly purchases.
While Aavin officials remained tight-lipped about it, the staff at various milk consumers cooperative societies across the city informed customers that milk cards are available only for the standardised, toned, and Delite varieties. The FCM has also been delisted in milk card applications in Aavin’s online portal.
It is learnt that FCM, sold at Rs 46 per litre after a subsidy of Rs 14 a litre to milk cardholders, caused a significant financial loss for Aavin, prompting the organisation to halt the issuance of new milk cards. In comparison, other milk cards offer a subsidy of only Rs 2 per litre.
In retail sales, the FCM of Aavin is sold at Rs 60 per litre as opposed to Rs 46 per litre to cardholders. The price of private FCM variants ranges from Rs 72 to Rs 76 a litre. Until a few months ago, residents could obtain these cards by submitting their Aadhaar and family ration cards. However, starting from May 1, new FCM cards are no longer being issued for FCM, milk consumers told TNIE.
Aavin Managing Director A Annadurai stated that daily procurement stands at 33 lakh litres and that sufficient milk is being supplied to consumers. “There is no shortage of milk. If milk consumers' cooperative societies have stopped issuing the cards, we will look into the matter,” he said.
According to official data, Chennai consumes around 13 lakh litres of Aavin milk daily, with 5.5 to 6 lakh litres distributed through milk cards, benefiting roughly 10 lakh residents.
S Varadharajan, a resident of Ayanavaram, shared his experience: “I always buy FCM as we use it for making curd. After moving to Padi, I didn’t renew my card, which got cancelled five years ago. Recently, when I enquired at the Korattur society for an FCM card, I was told it is no longer available. I purchase Arokya and other brands for Rs 74 to Rs 76 now.”
Another consumer, K Nandhivaraman from Velachery, said, “I regularly renew the milk card for my daughter’s household between the first and fourteenth of every month. A few months ago, we were asked to provide Aadhaar details, which we submitted. But recently, when my son tried to apply for a new FCM card in Tambaram, he was informed it’s no longer issued.”
In 2021-22, Aavin cancelled 80,000 fraudulent milk cards in Chennai due to address mismatches.
The following year, a major scam was uncovered where a large number of FCM cards were renewed in Tambaram and the milk was diverted to private establishments.
This led to cancellation of hundreds of cards in the region. Against this backdrop, during 2023-24, Aavin collected Aadhaar or family ration cards for renewing the milk cards for FCM.