A few months ago, the Opposition had accused the Shinde government of giving Mahanand milk dairy to Gujarat's Amul. However, instead of going to Amul, the dairy has been given to the brand Mother Dairy. Finally, the process of transferring Mahanand was completed on May 2.
The state government will provide financial assistance of Rs 253 crore to Mother Dairy to revive Mahanand. Mahanand's board of directors had decided to allow 'Mahanand' to be run by the National Dairy Development Board. It was approved by the state government.
Shiv Sena Thackeray group's Rajya Sabha MP Sanjay Raut and NCP's Sharad Pawar group MLA Jitendra Awhad had also criticized it. "This is another ploy by the Shinde government to send Maharashtra's project to Gujarat," Raut had said. Awhad had said Mahanand had been sold to Gujarat.
Mother Dairy is operated by the National Dairy Development Board. The same NDDB has been given to run Mahanand. Mahananda was the apex body of the state. It had been in financial trouble for some time now. This led to the decision to run Mahanand to the Central Government-controlled National Dairy Development Board in Gujarat. The board is headquartered in Anand, Gujarat. The opposition is likely to again criticize the government in the Lok Sabha elections.