The State government will approach the Centre once again to include dairy sector in the national employment guarantee scheme.
The State had raised the demand earlier, the Chief Minister, Mr Oommen Chandy, said after laying the foundation for expansion of Milma dairy unit at Tripunithura near here.
He said the dairy sector had registered 30 per cent growth last year thanks to the supportive measures initiated by the Government. It would be possible for the State to achieve self-sufficiency in the sector if the pace of growth continued in the coming years.
Self-sufficiency
The State Dairy Development Minister, Mr K.C. Joseph, said the State should become self-sufficient in production of milk and eggs during the 12th Plan.
A Rs 26-crore plan for setting up a modern packaging plant at the Ernakulam Milma unit would be submitted to the Centre, he added.
The Union Minister of State for Consumer Affairs, Prof K.V. Thomas, who launched new varieties of ‘milk peda’, said that failure in raising production of commodities to meet the demand was one of the key reasons behind food inflation.
The State Excise Minister Mr K. Babu, who inaugurated the new Web site of Milma, said a new 66 kv electrical substation would be set up for the dairy plant. About 15 acres of land is available for the purpose, he said.