Milma Malabar union board dissolution politically motivated, alleges chairman K.S. Mani
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A political tussle is fast escalating in the Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (Milma) with the dissolution of the board of the Milma’s Malabar regional union earlier this month after the dissolution of the Thiruvananthapuram union’s board in July.
Milma chairman K.S. Mani alleged that the dissolution of the Malabar Regional Cooperative Milk Producers’ Union was politically motivated and challenged the United Democratic Front (UDF) government and the Dairy Development department to supply evidence of corruption.
Addressing a press conference here, he said that people cannot be blamed for suspecting that the dissolution was part of a clandestine move to destroy Milma.
“I’m not sure how long I myself will last as Milma chairman,” Mr. Mani said. Of the three regional unions of Milma, the dissolved boards of the Thiruvananthapuram and Malabar unions had a Left Democratic Front (LDF) majority while the Ernakulam regional union, which remains untouched, is governed by a UDF-led director board.
Mr. Mani, who took over as chairman in 2021 when the LDF was in power, alleged that the Malabar union, as in the case of the Thiruvananthapuram union, was dissolved unilaterally and in violation of all set-down procedures. Mr. Mani’s press conference on Monday came ahead of the annual general body meeting of the Milma federation scheduled for 11 a.m. on Tuesday. With two director boards terminated, he expressed doubts whether the meeting would have the required quorum.
On September 20, Animal Husbandry and Dairy Development Minister Bindhu Krishna told reporters that the Malabar union was dissolved after serious irregularities were detected and that the Dairy Development department had ordered a detailed probe.
However, Mr. Mani challenged the claim and said that the Minister had been misled. He said a smokescreen had been created to dissolve the union and that none of the government representatives on the Malabar union board had raised any objections to any of its decisions.
The Director, Dairy Development, had issued orders dissolving the director board of the Thiruvananthapuram Regional Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union Ltd (TRCMPU) on July 25, which led to the LDF losing majority in the Milma federation. The board of the Malabar union was dissolved on September 18. Mr. Mani is continuing as chairman on the strength of an interim order of the High Court.
Mr. Mani also registered his strong protest over the stalled recruitment of officers and workmen in the Thiruvananthapuram and Malabar unions. The recruitment process was initiated through a transparent process under the supervision of a recruitment committee. The process had reached the final leg when it was stalled, according to him. The remaining steps included the skill test and group discussion, interviews to relevant posts, rank list preparation and appointments. More delays will lead to financial implications for Milma in addition to a human resource crunch, according to the chairman.
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