Chennai, Sept 3:
The Tamil Nadu government has increased the accident compensation payable to members of primary milk producers’ cooperative societies from Rs 4 lakh to Rs 5 lakh, Milk and Dairy Development Minister C Vijayalakshmi announced in the Assembly on Wednesday.
The announcement was made during the debate on the demands for grants for the Milk and Dairy Development Department.
Under the Perarignar Anna Cooperative Milk Producers Welfare Fund Scheme, the compensation for a milk producer who dies in an accident will now be increased by Rs 1 lakh.
The government has also enhanced assistance for milk producers who suffer serious disabilities in accidents.
The compensation for a producer who loses both limbs has been increased from Rs 2.25 lakh to Rs 2.50 lakh.
The government has further decided to raise marriage assistance for the eligible milk producer’s girl child from Rs 60,000 to Rs 1 lakh.
The welfare scheme is funded through monthly contributions from milk producers, cooperative societies and district milk producers’ cooperative unions.
The Minister also announced a major technological overhaul of Tamil Nadu’s three-tier milk cooperative structure.
The government proposes to introduce end-to-end automation across the system at an estimated cost of Rs 5 crore.
A dedicated software application will integrate key activities including milk procurement, quality testing, transportation, processing, production of milk products and sales.
According to the Minister, the integrated system will facilitate real-time monitoring of operations and reduce errors arising from human intervention.
It is also expected to improve traceability and accountability in milk procurement.
The government said the digital system would help ensure timely and quality-based payments to milk producers while strengthening the quality-control mechanism for milk supplied to consumers.
The announcements come as the government seeks to strengthen the cooperative dairy network while providing additional social-security support to milk producers and their families.