Farmers irked by NARMUL plan to sell land to overcome crisis

Nalgonda: Nalgonda-Ranga Reddy Cooperative Milk Producers Union Limited (NARMUL), operating as NARMUL Mother Dairy, is in deep financial distress, jeopardising the livelihoods of 32,000 dairy farmers. The cooperative has defaulted on payments for the last three months, owing Rs 20 crore to farmers, while also shouldering Rs 35.15 crore in bank loans with an interest burden of Rs 4 crore.

Daily, NARMUL procures one lakh litres of milk—70,000 litres sold as milk pockets and 30,000 litres processed into milk products. However, steep competition from private dairy brands has led to a drop in milk sales, forcing the cooperative to convert unsold milk at a cost of Rs 15 per litre.

The crisis reached a boiling point when farmers protested at the Mother Dairy Center in Kurmoda, Ranga Reddy district, pouring milk on the ground in protest of unpaid dues. The situation was further aggravated by a state government order directing all temples under the Endowments Department to purchase ghee exclusively from Vijaya Dairy, potentially costing NARMUL over Rs 1.5 crore annually.

In a controversial move to stem losses, NARMUL’s general body meeting on February 7 in Hyderabad approved the sale of 30 acres of its land—29 acres in Chityal and 1.5 acres in Miryalaguda.

This decision has sparked strong opposition among farmers, with former director Donthiri Somireddy warning that property sales could lead to the eventual closure of NARMUL Mother Dairy. Somireddy also noted that while the cooperative recently extended a Rs 4 bonus per litre to farmers, a government inquiry into its financial condition and promised grants from Congress leaders before the elections are urgently needed to protect farmers' interests.