Audit report shows adulteration at Ludhiana milk plant: Bains
Says Milkfedrun Verka plants are selling milk with lower fat content, charging ₹56 extra per packet
› A senior IAS officer is pressuring the vigilance officials to not complete the inquiry that was ordered by the state government. SIMARJEET SINGH BAINS, Lok Insaaf Party MLA
JALANDHAR: Citing an audit report on physical verification of milk and milk products’ stock at a milk union in Ludhiana, Lok Insaaf Party MLA Simarjeet Singh Bains alleged adulteration in Verka’s dairy products.
During a press conference here on Saturday, Bains said that on analysis of the products’ balance sheet from April 1 to June 19, 2018, it was found that recovery of fat was 98.24% against the 98.50% fixed for reconstitution plant. Also, the recovery of solids-not-fat (SNF) was 96.19% against the 99% fixed by the Milkfed.
He said that the government audit report showed recovery of 83.89% fat and 86.40% SNF on the daily production balance sheet of June 19, 2018. In June’sdata, recovery of fat is shown to be 97.43% and solids-not-fat to be 84.24%, which is below the standard fixed, especially in case of SNF recovery.
“I received this audit report from a senior official of the department,” Bains said.
“The audit department has sent it to the vigilance as well. The report exposes adulteration in Verka’s dairy products. But no action has been initiated against anyone so far,” he added.
The audit was conducted by Fatehgarh Sahib cooperative society audit officer Davinderjit Singh, senior auditor Sukhcharan Singh and four others.
The MLA alleged that a senior IAS officer is pressuring the vigilance officials to not complete the inquiry that was ordered by the state government. There are allegations that the Milkfed-run Verka plants are selling milk with lower fat content and charging ₹5-6 extra per packet.
Bains claimed a scam worth at least ₹200 crore and asked the Congress government to take action against the milk plant officials.
Last week, the MLA had conducted a surprise check at the plant alleging that Verka supplies low fat milk with SNF different from what was claimed on the packets.
Later, the Ludhiana police had registered a first information report (FIR) against the LIP leader for allegedly trespassing into the premises of Verka Milk Plant, ‘threatening employees and forcibly testing milk samples in the laboratory.’