THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Government is considering a hike in the price of milk sold by the State Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Milma).

Minister for Food and Civil Supplies C. Divakaran told journalists here that an increase of Re.1 a litre was being proposed. However, the Government would finalise the hike only after ensuring that the dairy farmers benefited from it.

The Minister, who returned from Delhi on Thursday after submitting a memorandum to the Centre on various demands of his Department, said the Centre had agreed to increase allocation of wheat to the State and make up the shortfall in the allocation of kerosene.

Mr. Divakaran said Union Minister for Food and Civil Supplies Sharad Pawar had agreed to restore 50 per cent of the cut effected in allocation of wheat to the State in May last year. Accordingly, the State would get an additional 3,000 tonnes of wheat a month. He said the Centre had also agreed to increase the quota of kerosene for the State. While the per-head consumption of kerosene in the country was 9.08 kg, Kerala was getting an allocation of 7.04 kg per head only.

Research institute

The Centre would be sanctioning Rs.5 crores shortly for the proposed Food Research Institute at Konni. About 35 acres had been acquired for it.

He said the State had demanded that the differences in the below poverty line (BPL) lists of the State and the Centre should be reconciled. It also wanted the Essential Commodities Act to be reintroduced. Shortages in the supply of cooking gas should be rectified.

The Minister said the Government had also submitted projects for achieving self-sufficiency in milk production and setting up quality infrastructure for dairy development for Central assistance. Self-sufficiency was proposed to be achieved by upgrading the laboratory facilities and improving the quality of artificial insemination.

About 500 people would be employed to run additional artificial insemination centres.

The project would cost about Rs.72.45 crore.

Another project, costing Rs.76 crore, aimed at upgrading the existing artificial insemination centre to international standards and setting up of basic infrastructure for animal husbandry. Besides, a project for setting up a multi-speciality veterinary hospital had also been put up for Central assistance.

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