Milma Thiruvananthapuram Union dissolved; serious financial irregularities, Sabarimala ghee controversy cited

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The governing body of the Milma Thiruvananthapuram Regional Union has been dissolved after the Dairy Development Department found evidence of serious financial irregularities, including allegations related to the supply of substandard ghee for preparing Aravana at Sabarimala.

Joint Director of Dairy Development Sinila Unnikrishnan has been appointed administrator of the union, which had been under the control of an LDF-backed governing body. According to the official order, the decision was taken on an emergency basis amid concerns that records could be tampered with while the board was preparing its response to a show-cause notice.

Among the irregularities cited is the alleged diversion of consignments of ghee transported in multiple loads from the Pathanamthitta dairy to Sannidhanam. The order alleges that the original consignments were replaced en route with inferior-quality ghee procured from Tamil Nadu, which was repacked in Milma tins before being supplied for the preparation of Aravana.

The investigation also found that the head of the Pathanamthitta dairy unit, along with the central office's head of production, planning and marketing, had caused a loss of ₹85.73 lakh. It further states that 1,77,060 litres of ghee procured from Maharashtra and packed under 35 batch numbers were supplied to Sannidhanam without undergoing the mandatory food safety tests required before distribution.

The order also refers to an audit report which found that the union had incurred a loss of ₹93 lakh towards transportation charges for bringing milk from Maharashtra.
Board member K.R. Mohanan Pillai said the governing body had received neither the show-cause notice proposing its dissolution nor the order dissolving it.

The LDF leadership, meanwhile, alleged that the dissolution was politically motivated. It accused the government of imposing administrative control with the forthcoming elections in mind.