WEDNESDAY, JULY 03, 2024
Team Herald
PONDA: In response to a show cause notice issued by the Department of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services (AH&VS), a special annual general body meeting (AGM) of Goa Dairy Farmers was held at Sahakar Bhavan, Curti. The farmers strongly opposed the proposal to terminate the lease agreement with Goa Dairy and take over its milk plant and cattle feed plant. They argued that the notice was faulty since Goa Dairy is profitable and the reported losses were due to the cattle feed plant.
The notice was served by the Director of Animal Husbandry following reports of Goa Dairy suffering losses, including Rs 11.5 crore in accumulated losses from the cattle feed plant, which was recently shut down. The meeting saw the attendance of 65 Chairmen of Milk Societies and three members of the Government-appointed Administrative Committee of Goa Dairy, including Chairman Parag Nagarsekar, Rama Parab (in-charge MD), and Sandeep Parsekar.
The show cause notice was issued following reports by the Registrar of Cooperative Societies (RCS) and an Inquiry Committee, which concluded that Goa Dairy was unable to manage the cattle feed plant, leading to significant losses, and also noted a decrease in milk production at the milk plant.
Durgesh Shirodkar, a farmer, stated that the notice was based on a 2022 letter from the Chairman of the former Administrative Committee, which highlighted declining milk production, profit margins, and substantial outstanding payments. Shirodkar pointed out that Goa Dairy's milk plant had never been in losses, attributing the financial issues to the cattle feed plant. He noted that Goa Dairy earned a profit of Rs 2.5 crore in 2021, arguing against terminating the lease agreement for the milk plant. He added that cases are already filed against those responsible for the cattle feed plant losses and that the government should recover the losses from them, rather than penalising all farmers.
Goa Dairy Administrative Committee Chairman Parag Nagarsekar affirmed that Goa Dairy is profitable, having earned Rs 70 lakh last year, with current milk sales at 50,000 litres per day.
The original lease deed from 1984, in which AH&VS leased around 81,485 square metres of land at Curti and Usgao, including buildings and structures for the milk processing plant and feed factory plant, stipulated a 90-year lease with an annual rent of Rs one. The purpose was to support dairy development and enhance milk production.
In light of this, AH&VS served a notice to Goa Dairy, as per the lease agreement provisions, questioning why the agreement should not be terminated and assets taken back without compensation under clause (1), which allows termination if the lessee is unable to manage the assets or ensure regular milk supply.
The Directorate of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Services served the show cause notice to the Goa Dairy Administrative Committee on May 30, prompting the AGM of Goa Dairy to discuss the notice.
