Himachal Pradesh’s first hi-tech 1.50 LLPD milk plant to benefit 35,000 farmers
Shimla: In a major move to enhance the rural economy through milk production, Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Thursday laid the foundation stone for a cutting-edge milk processing plant in Dhagwar, Kangra district.
The plant, with an initial processing capacity of 1.50 lakh litres per day (LLPD), is set to play a crucial role in supporting local farmers and strengthening the region’s dairy industry. 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.
“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,” said the Chief Minister while launching the ambitious project he had proposed in this year’s budget. 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 claimed 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 dairy milk procurement has risen from 1,40,000 litres to 2,10,000 litres. 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 at a cost of Rs. 25.67 crore.
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.
Before giving approvals for the plant, the Chief Minister had sent teams of officials to Gujarat to study various models of milk production and processing.
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.
Through new initiatives to engage rural folks including women in productive earnings the government, during the past two years, had made earnest efforts to see Himachal Pradesh a self-reliant and one of the most prosperous states in the country, said Sukhu.
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.
