Bengaluru: Defending the recent milk price increase approved by the state Cabinet, Karnataka Chief Minister D.K. Shivakumar stated on Thursday that raising prices by Rs 8 per litre is necessary to protect dairy farmers from mounting financial losses.

To advertise here,

Shivakumar maintained that despite the adjustment, milk prices in Karnataka remain lower than those in neighbouring states.

“There has been a demand to raise milk prices for the last couple of years. The milk price hike has been made to prevent losses to farmers,” Shivakumar told media personnel near a private hotel in the city.

Responding to inquiries regarding the Rs 8 per litre increase for Nandini brand milk finalised during the cabinet session, he remarked, “The government is helping farmers. Farmers are important to us.”

When asked whether the price revision would impose a financial burden on the public, the Chief Minister countered, “If there are farmers, we can drink milk. Otherwise, is it possible to drink milk? Our minister has already spoken about this, and there is nothing more to add.”

“Prices of everything, including plastic packaging, diesel, and petrol, have increased. The transportation cost of milk has also gone up. There was a demand to increase the price by Rs 12 to 15. We made this decision after consulting with everyone,” he explained.

Drawing comparisons with retail rates across southern India, Shivakumar noted, “People pay Rs 30–35 for a litre of water. Compared to neighbouring Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, the price of milk in our state is lower. Since the price was low here, milk was also being routed to Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. That needed to be prevented.”

He stated that elected representatives had consistently sought a price revision across political lines, adding that electoral schedules had delayed the move.

“All MLAs had demanded a milk price hike across party lines in both the Legislative Assembly and the Legislative Council. A decision could not be taken earlier due to elections. Now that elections are over, the decision has been made,” he said.

Addressing questions regarding a prospective public transport fare adjustment, Shivakumar stated that the state Transport Department would evaluate the matter independently.

“The Transport Department has suffered heavy losses, and there were no funds even for diesel. The government is providing free bus travel for women. Therefore, the Transport Department itself has been asked to take a decision on this matter,” he said.

The Karnataka Cabinet formally approved the Rs 8 per litre milk price increase on Thursday, scaling back from the Rs 12 increase requested by dairy federations.

ANI