PONDA: Goa Dairy Farmers, who initiated the Save Goa Dairy campaign five years ago to combat corruption through legal action, have once again launched a mission to preserve Goa Dairy.
They are urging the government to promptly conduct elections for the Goa Dairy Board to ensure smooth operations. The farmers have warned that if elections are not held within six months, as mandated by law, they will seek judicial intervention to enforce their demands.
They have also alleged that there is a conspiracy to transfer Goa Dairy to private entities through covert means, citing financial losses as a pretext.
The farmers contend that the administrators appointed over the past five years have lacked the necessary expertise, leading Goa Dairy towards becoming another financially unviable entity, akin to the Sanjivani Sugar Factory.
They emphasize that without timely intervention, the interests of the farmers will be adversely affected.
Furthermore, they claim that Goa Dairy has incurred losses amounting to Rs 5 crore during the administrator’s tenure and are calling on the government to compensate this amount to support various initiatives of Goa Dairy.
Consequently, they insist that the government conduct elections for the Goa Dairy Board without delay.
In the recent Annual General Meeting, it was reported that Rs 1.5 crore interest earned from deposits was presented as profit for the last financial year.
Additionally, the farmers have accused Radhika Kale, an official of Goa Dairy, of unlawfully depositing Rs 7 crore into PMC Bank from the Goa State Cooperative Bank. Approximately Rs 15 crore was sanctioned to Goa Dairy by the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) for development projects; however, only Rs 8 crore was utilized. The remaining Rs 7 crore was allegedly deposited illegally in PMC Bank, and due to the absence of a certificate confirming the utilization of funds, the NDDB is unwilling to release further funds for development. Therefore, the farmers are demanding that the government recover these funds from the official involved.
They have also called for the immediate establishment of a cattle feed plant at Goa Dairy, as farmers are currently facing difficulties in obtaining cattle feed and are incurring additional expenses. The farmers noted that the auditor had identified deficiencies in the administrative operations of Goa Dairy, yet no improvements have been made. The farmers highlighted that Goa Dairy, which employs approximately 225 individuals, yields a milk production of 45000 liters, whereas Sumul, with only 25 employees, produces one lakh liters of milk.
Additionally, they voiced their concerns regarding the government’s perceived neglect of Goa Dairy, as it has denied financial assistance to the cooperative while simultaneously granting Rs 33 lakh in support to the private entity, Sumul.