Maharashtra cabinet gives nod to Rs 5 per litre subsidy to milk producers

The Maharashtra cabinet announced on Thursday to provide a subsidy of Rs 5 per liter for milk to farmers supplying their produce to both cooperative societies and private milk projects within the state The decision aims to support and bolster the dairy farming communityUnder this initiative milkproducing farmers who are part of cooperative milk societies and private milk projects will receive a subsidy of Rs 5 per liter for cow milk To ensure fair compensation these farmers are required to pay a minimum rate of Rs 27 per liter for milk with a quality standard of 35 fat 85 SNF SolidsNotFat through online transactions to their respective bank accountsThe subsidy will be directly debited DBT to the bank accounts of the concerned milkproducing farmers after the initial payment Furthermore a system of deductions and increases has been established based on the fat and SNF content with a reduction of 30 paise for each point below the specified standard and an increase of 30 paise for each point aboveTo facilitate the smooth implementation of this scheme a specialized software has been developed through the banking system ensuring a seamless subsidy transfer to the bank accounts of the deserving farmersAccording to data from November 2023 the daily milk collection through cooperative milk unions and private milk projects stands at an impressive 149 lakh liters Considering the proposed subsidy of Rs 5 per liter an estimated subsidy of Rs 230 crore will be required for a onemonth period However this amount is subject to change based on fluctuations in actual milk collectionThe scheme is scheduled to be rolled out from January 11 2024 to February 10 2024 marking a crucial step towards supporting the dairy sector and ensuring the welfare of milkproducing farmers in the stateThe Maharashtra cabinet also cleared a proposal that offers an option of availing the Old Pension Scheme OPS to the state government employees who joined the service after November 2005The Maharashtra cabinet decision comes days after the government as well as semigovernment employees and officials went on a strike to press for their demand of restoring the OPS newswire PTI reportedThe cabinet gave its nod to the proposal that offers an option of the OPS to the state employees who joined the service postNovember 2005 the Chief Ministers Office CMO saidTalking to PTI Vishwas Katkar general secretary of the Maharashtra state employees confederation said The Maharashtra cabinets decision will benefit some 26000 state government employees who were selected before November 2005 but received joining letters later This decision will benefit only these 26000 state employeesThere are as many as 95 lakh state employees who joined the service before November 2005 and they already enjoy the benefits of the OPS the PTI report saidUnder the OPS a government employee gets a monthly pension equivalent to 50 per cent hisher last drawn salary There was no need for contribution by employees The OPS was discontinued in the state in 2005Under the New Pension Scheme NPS a state government employee contributes 10 per cent of hisher basic salary plus dearness allowance with the state making a matching contribution The money is then invested in one of the several pension funds approved by the Pension Fund Regulatory and Development Authority PFRDA and the returns are marketlinkedThe Maharashtra cabinet also cleared a proposal to charge Rs 250 as toll amount for cars for using the Mumbai Trans Harbour Link MTHL the countrys longest sea bridge that connects Sewri in Mumbai to Nhava Sheva in neighbouring Raigad districtPrime Minister Narendra Modi will inaugurate the MTHL on January 12 The 218kilometre long bridge will bring down the journey from the current two hours to around 1520 minutesIn another proposal okayed by the Maharashtra cabinet the clerkstypists working in the Mantralaya will be given a monthly allowance of Rs 5000 over and above their current remuneration the CMO said