Aavin to reintroduce ‘button paal’ system of selling milk through vending machine, Madras High Court told
The Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited (TNCMPFL) has informed the Madras High Court of having decided to revive the delivery of its Aavin
The Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited (TNCMPFL) has informed the Madras High Court of having decided to revive the delivery of its Aavin brand of milk through Automatic Vending Machines (AVMs) which were once popularly known as ‘button paal’ until they were shut down completely in 2014. In a status report filed before a special Division Bench of Justices N. Sathish Kumar Bharatha Chakravarthy, TNCMPFL Managing Director Ajay Yadav said, the AVMs would be installed at Kodaikanal in Dindigul district and Udhagamandalam (Ooty) in The Nilgiris district on a pilot-basis in order to assess customer reception. The decision has been taken at the instance of the High Court after amici curiae T. Mohan, Chevanan Mohan, Rahul Balaji Santhanaraman highlighted the environmental hazards caused due to the plastic sachets in which Aavin milk was being distributed across the State after the closure of all AVMs in October 2014.
The amici curiae told the court that AVMs were introduced in the State in the 1970s but they were closed down completely in 2014 following complaints of adulteration of the milk sold through the machines. The lawyers suggested reintroduction of AVMs, by ensuring zero adulteration, in the interest of the environment. On pilot-basis at Ooty, Kodaikanal When the judges found force in the submission and directed TNCMPFL to come up with a pilot project, the federation agreed to implement it first in Kodaikanal and Udhagamandalam. It also placed orders with a private company based in Uttar Pradesh for supply of two AVMs each costing ₹3.6 lakh. In compliance with the court direction that the AVMs must be installed and commissioned in densely-populated areas and that supply of milk through plastic sachets should be discontinued in the surrounding localities, TNCMPFL told the court that it had identified two locations as per the court order.
One of the two AVMs would be installed at the Aavin hi-tech parlour at Poet Thiagarajar Salai in Kodaikanal and necessary approvals had been obtained from the Dindigul Collector as well as the Commissioner of Milk Production and Dairy Development in Chennai, Mr. Yadav said. “Further, meetings have also been conducted with wholesale dealers, sub agents and vendors and necessary instructions have been issued. They have been specifically instructed not to supply milk sachets at the doorsteps of consumers, institutions and hotels within the earmarked operational area of the AVM,” the officer added. Similarly, the second AVM would be installed at an open space allotted by the Nilgiris Collector adjacent to the Uzhavar Sandhai (farmers’ market) at Charing Cross and arrangements have been made over there for purchase of milk through digital payment facilities such as UPI-enabled banking system, he said.
The BriefWire