MoS Balyan takes dig at NDDB, asks why aren't there more Amuls in India?

New Delhi, June 2 Union Minister of State for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, Sanjeev Balyan, came down heavily on the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) on Wednesday, which was also incedentally the World Milk Day.

After praising the Amul model, Balyan said he had tried to understand (Amul founder) Varghese Kurien's philosophy after he was presented his biography, and realised what all he did for the milk and dairy sector.

"When Amul became successful, then Prime Minister Lal Bahadur Shashtri established the National Dairy Development Board (NDDB) to have Amul like success stories in each region. Some were successful, some failed," Balyan said at the 'Unnat Pashudhan Sashakt Kisan Conclave - the Conclave of 75 Entrepreneurs and Exhibition of 75 Indigenous Livestock Breeds'.

The minister termed it as 'meri peeda' (personal hurt) when he said that the NDDB has failed to raise Amul-like cooperative models that have brought prosperity to the area the milk plant operates in.

Pointing to NDDB chairperson Meenesh Shah and also stating that what he says should not be taken personally but as an earnest appeal from a farmer at heart Balyan said, "You just a while ago said your Faridabad plant sends 1 lakh litres of milk daily to Delhi. Then why do my farmer brothers not get all those facilities that their counterparts in Gujarat get?"

Balyan also spoke about the poultry sector, which, he said, has grown independently of the government, offering low prices to the small farmers rearing poultry.

"If this continues, if the contracts for integration by the private companies continue to give losses to the small farmers, the government will have to intervene to stop such exploitation," he said, adding, "We will soon call a meeting of all the stakeholders in this regard."

Earlier, Parshottam Rupala, Union Minister for Fisheries, Animal Husbandry and Dairying, inaugurated the conclave.