TEAM HERALD
MARGAO: BJP MLA Vishnu Surya Wagh on Saturday said the government should have stopped Gujarat’s Amul from entering the state to protect the interest of state’s dairy farmers, saying the milk giant will destroy the milk cooperative movement in the state.
“Amul is a huge milk cooperative movement. It has huge resources at its disposal which our local Goa Dairy will not be in a position to match. We need to think whether the entry of Amul into the state would benefit the local farmers or the milk giant from Gujarat,” he said, while speaking at a function held at the Grace Church hall to mark the 60th National Cooperative Week 2013.
While he restricted his speech at the function to send a warning that Amul’s entry would not ring in good news for the local dairy farmers, Wagh later told Herald after the function that the government should have intervened and stopped Amul from entering the State.
“We talk about strengthening of the cooperative movement in the State. At the same time, we allow entry of huge cooperative units which threaten the very existence of our local movement,” he warned.
Expressing his unhappiness that the cooperative movement is restricted only to a handful of talukas, Cooperation Minister Deepak Dhavlikar on Saturday underlined the need to take the movement to every nook and corner of the State
“It’s now 50 years since the cooperative movement had started in the State. But, we have found the movement only in 3-4 taluks. It’s time to introspect why the movement has not taken roots in the remaining talukas of the State,” Dhavlikar said, while addressing the 60th National Cooperative Week 2013 at the Grace Church hall on Saturday.
Saying that the government was not averse in engaging an NGO to take the movement to the grassroots, Dhavlikar said he has asked the existing federations to spread awareness of the cooperative movement across the State, but has not received response till date.
The minister lamented that Goa was implementing the Maharashtra Act on Cooperative societies all these years before the State enacted its own law in 2001. He, however, said that the law was not implemented since its enactment in 2001 to 2008 for reasons best known to the previous government, adding that his government is determined to bring the necessary Amendments to the Act to ensure the law keeps pace with the changing times.
In his address, Fatorda MLA Vijai Sardesai said the time has now come for deep introspection as to why the cooperative movement has failed to take roots in the state. “A strong cooperative movement will help the economy withstand any pressures. But, questions are raised why the cooperation movement has is not spread across the state. This is a big challenge before the cooperative sector,” Vijai said.
