Kangra, January 23: Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu laid the foundation stone for a state-of-the-art milk processing plant with a capacity of 1.50 lakh litres per day (LLPD) in Dhagwar, Kangra district on Thursday.
Chief Minister Sukhu said that the plant's initial processing capacity of 1.50 LLPD can be expanded to 3 LLPD in the future.
"Once operational, the Dhagwar Milk Processing Plant will significantly strengthen the economy of farmers in Kangra, Mandi, Hamirpur, Chamba, and Una districts, benefiting over 35,000 milk producers," said CM Sukhu.
"In addition to boosting the incomes of milk producers, the plant will create employment opportunities in milk collection, processing, quality control, and distribution. It will also generate indirect jobs in sectors such as transportation, supply chain management, and maintenance services," he added.
The Chief Minister said that the entire funding for the construction of this plant was being provided by the State Government, which will be completed by February 2026. He mentioned that once the processing plant becomes operational, farmers will receive payments of Rs 40 lakh daily.
He said that after the increase in milk rates, Milkfed's daily milk procurement has risen from 1,40,000 litres to 2,10,000 litres.
Adding, he said that the advanced milk processing plant will process 1.50 lakh litres of milk daily, producing a wide range of dairy products, including curd, lassi, butter, ghee, cheese, flavoured milk, khoya, and mozzarella cheese.
He also said that the capacity of the milk processing plant in Duttnagar, Shimla district, has been increased from 20,000 litres to 70,000 litres per day for Rs 25.67 crore.
He said this enhanced capacity is benefiting dairy farmers in Shimla, Kullu, Mandi, and Kinnaur districts, with around 20,000 farmers associated with 271 dairy cooperative societies reaping the rewards.
CM Sukhu said that strengthening the rural economy was a top priority of the present state government.
"To ensure more money reaches the hands of rural people, the Government has increased the minimum support price of cow's milk from Rs 32 to Rs 45 per litre and buffalo's milk from Rs 47 to Rs 55 per litre," he said.
He further said that the State Government has made earnest efforts over the past two years to make Himachal Pradesh a self-reliant and one of the most prosperous states in the country.
The Chief Minister said that it was for the first time that 4,000 metric tonnes of maize produced through natural farming was purchased at Rs 30 per kg, and from the next season, wheat will be procured at Rs 40 per kg.
He also said that the State Government has made a historic increase of Rs. 60 in the wages under the MGNREGA scheme, raising daily wages to Rs 300 for workers.
Agriculture Minister Chander Kumar, Vice Chairman of the State Planning Board Bhawani Singh Pathania, Deputy Chief Whip Kewal Singh Pathania, MLAs Sudarshan Bablu and Ashish Butail, Chief Minister's IT Advisor Gokul Butail, Chairman of Kangra Cooperative Primary Agricultural and Rural Development Bank Ram Chander Pathania, and other dignitaries were present on the occasion.
