Milma, Kerala’s cooperative dairy network, has been at the centre of a fresh political and administrative dispute after the state government dissolved the elected governing board of the Malabar Regional Co-operative Milk Producers’ Union.

Milma, officially the Kerala Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (KCMMF), is the state’s cooperative dairy federation. It operates through three regional unions — Malabar, Thiruvananthapuram and Ernakulam — which procure milk from farmers and supply milk and dairy products across Kerala. The system also aims to provide remunerative prices to dairy farmers.

The latest government order places the Malabar union under administrative control following allegations of financial mismanagement and operational failures. The move has also altered the political landscape of Milma’s regional unions, with the UDF-led Ernakulam union now the only one with an active elected governing board.

Malabar union placed under administrator

The order, issued by the Registrar of the Dairy Development Department, dissolved the elected board of the Malabar union and appointed Wayanad Deputy Director Varkey George to oversee its day-to-day administration.

The action followed complaints and inquiries into the functioning of the union and the Malabar Rural Development Foundation (MRDF).

According to the reports cited in the proceedings, the MRDF had not undergone an audit since its formation. The inquiry also raised allegations of financial irregularities involving lakhs of rupees.

One complaint concerned the Kasaragod Dairy, where the procurement of sub-standard milk allegedly resulted in a loss of Rs 27.45 lakh. Officials were accused of writing off the amount in the accounts without recovering the money.

Further discrepancies were reported at the Malappuram Dairy. Complaints referred to stolen ghee and unaccounted dairy stock valued at Rs 84.45 lakh.

Questions were also raised over expenditure on administrative and infrastructure-related activities. Reports cited spending of Rs 1.5 crore for the inauguration of the Malappuram facility.

Another allegation concerned the expenditure of Rs 25 lakh to secure a government grant of Rs 50 lakh.

The government action comes after a series of interventions involving the elected boards of Milma's regional unions.

LDF-led boards dissolved, UDF union remains

The Malabar regional union was controlled by an LDF-led elected board before its dissolution.

The latest action follows the government's decision in July to dissolve the elected board of the LDF-led Thiruvananthapuram Regional Co-operative Milk Producers' Union. That decision followed allegations of irregularities, including illicit sale of ghee at the Sabarimala temple shrine.

With the Malabar and Thiruvananthapuram boards now dissolved, the UDF-led Ernakulam Regional Co-operative Milk Producers' Union remains the only regional Milma union in Kerala with an active elected governing board.

The sequence of actions has therefore raised allegations from the ousted LDF-led leadership that the UDF government is targeting regional unions controlled by the Left.

The government, however, has based the interventions on allegations of financial and administrative irregularities in the respective unions.

Malabar leadership alleges political targeting

The ousted Malabar union leadership has rejected the allegations and accused the Dairy Development Department of acting with political bias.

Board members alleged that they were not given prior notice or an opportunity to respond to the complaints before the elected board was dissolved. They described the allegations as fabricated and said the department had not followed the required procedure.

The former office-bearers have said they will challenge the decision legally and also take up the issue through political means.

The dispute over the Thiruvananthapuram union had earlier reached the Kerala High Court.

The court upheld the state government's decision to dissolve the governing panel of Milma's Thiruvananthapuram Regional Co-operative Milk Producers' Union. A bench dismissed petitions filed by union president and other office-bearers challenging the government order.