Himul Milk Project to be revamped

SNS, Siliguri, 27 November 2013: In a bid to revamp the sick Himul Milk Project, the Himul chief Executive Officer (CEO) and the Siliguri ADM Mr P T Sherpa would seek Rs 16 crore as one time financial grant from the state government.
Mr Sherpa would attend a meeting with the state chief secretary Mr Sanjay Mitra over the issue in Kolkata tomorrow.
"The milk farmers are supposed to get Rs 2 crore, but the amount has been pending. At least 35 retired employees are yet to get their provident funds, gratuities. These persons were retired within five years. After their retirements they only received Rs 10,000 each. This apart, there are 125 permanent employees at Himul who are also not getting the provident funds, gratuities. Rs 4.5 crore has been pending in this regard,” Mr Sherpa said. 
The state-owned enterprise, which sells dairy products and cattle feed, is sick now and fresh funds need to be pumped in to revive it.
He said they were planning to replace new machinery. "The old machine had the capacity of processing one lakh litre per day but now it has come down to 15,000-20,000 litre. We need to replace that machine.
We will set up the machine with the capacity of processing at least 30,000 litre per day and it would be sufficient. The machine would cost around Rs 6-7 crore. 
Hence, we would seek a one time financial grant as Rs 16 crore from the state government," he added.