Dairy Development Minister S.M. Naser on Wednesday said Aavin will not hesitate to take action against retailers and milk vendors who sell milk above the maximum retail price (MRP).
Addressing presspersons after a review meeting with general managers (GM) of all district unions, Mr. Naser said that during the 2015 floods, there were instances of milk being sold for ₹200 per packet. “We frown upon such practices,” he said, adding that shops selling milk above the MRP were sealed recently in Chennai, Tiruchi and Coimbatore regions.
He told the GMs to remain stationed at their offices considering the red alert issued for several districts, “When the State is getting ready to face heavy rain, officials should not take unnecessary leave but man their posts. I have planned to conduct surprise visits to various district unions and dairies,” he later told The Hindu.
He urged the officials to be in touch with the societies through WhatsApp groups and ensure milk supply to the chilling centres and dairies. “Aavin’s work is to supply milk and sell milk-based products, if we work together like we did before the Deepavali festival, we can really pull it off. Several unions did well and Aavin sold over ₹80 crore worth of special sweets in just 15 days,” he said.
Mr. Naser said Aavin was in talks with the city Corporation for supply of skimmed milk powder (SMP).
Earlier, there were complaints of Aavin milk packets dumped by the roadside. However, officials clarified that they were not dumped but only left behind at the regular point as the delivery person was delayed.
