Duttnagar plant: A milestone in Himachal’s dairy revolution
The newly inaugurated dairy processing plant in Duttnagar in Shimla district is set to play a pivotal role in boosting the dairy industry in Himachal Pradesh. Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu recently inaugurated this state-of-the-art facility, built at a cost of Rs 25.67 crore under the National Dairy Development Programme and the Him Ganga Scheme.
The plant, with a processing capacity of 50,000 litre per day, adds to Duttnagar’s existing facilities, including a 20,000-litre capacity plant and a powder production unit with a capacity of 5 metric tonnes per day. With the new addition, Duttnagar now boasts a total daily processing capacity of 70,000 litre.
This facility aims to support local dairy farmers by producing milk, ghee, butter, cheese, lassi and flavoured milk while creating employment opportunities for the region’ s youth. It is expected to reduce dependence on dairy imports from other states, ensuring better returns for local producers. Deputy Commissioner (DC) Shimla, Anupam Kashyap, highlighted that the recent hike in milk prices has benefited farmers and helped curb issues like stray cattle on streets.
Himachal Pradesh State Co-operative Milk Producers Federation Limited (HPMilkfed), which manages milk collection from Shimla, Kullu, Mandi and Kinnaur districts, has significantly expanded its operations. Daily milk collection, which stood at 25,000–26,000 litre in 2012, has now reached 1 lakh litre, with Kullu contributing 95% of the supply. HPMilkfed currently operates 11 dairy processing plants across the state, with a total processing capacity of 1,30,000 litre per day.
Dr Vikas Sood, Managing Director of HPMilkfed, revealed that the federation has adopted Gujarat’s Anand Pattern, focusing on forming village-level dairy cooperative societies to enhance milk procurement. To support this, infrastructure has been expanded with new chilling centres, processing plants and powder plants with capacities of 16 metric tonnes and 5 metric tonnes per day. Additional facilities like mineral mixture plants, urea-based block plants and a bakery biscuit plant have also been established.
The federation’s efforts have resulted in increased milk collection and cooperative memberships, ensuring better income for dairy farmers. The Duttnagar plant’s launch marks a step forward in integrating more farmers into the dairy economy, promoting self-employment, and strengthening the local dairy ecosystem.
