Over six lakh Amul Dairy farmers await annual bonus

VADODARA/ ANAND: Nearly six lakh farmers of Gujarat associated with around 1,200 village level milk societies of Amul Dairy are waiting for their annual bonus amounting to Rs 170 crore after being caught in the political crossfire between the BJP and Congress.
For the first time since its inception in 1946, Amul Dairy has not been able to pay the year-end profits to its members on time. Usually, all the farmer members get their annual profits before the onset of monsoon in June.
The farmers of Anand and Kheda districts have not got their yearly bonus this year as the oldest dairy union does not have a functioning board to take important decisions including approval of last financial year’s annual accounts in absence of board of directors.
The new board of the milk union could not meet as Anand district collector did not issue notification to convene the first meeting of the new board to elect chairman and vice-chairman. Also, appointment of three state government nominees to the board is under challenge in Gujarat High Court. Parmar led Congress had won the elections in May this year by winning 10 out of 13 seats.
Perturbed by the delay in declaration of their annual bonus, thousands of farmer-members attended a meeting held at Amul Dairy’s premises in Anand.
“There is a provision in our bye-laws whereby if two-third of members demand for annual general meeting (AGM), the AGM has to be convened,” said Congress MLA from Thasra and former Amul Dairy chairman Ramsinh Parmar, adding that using the same provision, the dairy union will organize its AGM within a week.
Addressing the gathering of farmers, Parmar also threatened to take out a rally of one lakh farmers to Gandhinagar if the state government further obstructs the AGM.
“In all these years, it was only during elections that party politics of Congress and BJP came forth. Once the elections got over, there was no Congress and BJP and the board worked independently. It is for the first time that we are facing such harassment by the BJP-ruled state government which wants to convert majority into minority and appoint its own man as chairman,” said Parmar.
Amul Dairy is the only dairy union of Gujarat which is headed by Congress.