1 hr ago
Milk supply halt leaves 5,500 Vadodara anganwadi children without
About 5,500 young children in Vadodara have not received their regular milk for a week.
The milk was supposed to be given at 400 anganwadi centers.
Children between six months and six years are meant to receive 100 millilitres five days each week.
The supply stopped on September 17.
Officials from the child-development department said Amul’s bills arrived late and the available credit ran out.
They said the milk price had also increased.
The civic accounts department said it pays bills when they arrive and did not know there was an urgent problem.
Officials are discussing the payment and billing issue behind the stoppage.
Milk distribution stopped on September 17 across 400 Vadodara Municipal Corporation anganwadis.
About 5,500 children were missing their daily 100-millilitre milk serving.
The Integrated Child Development Services blamed exhausted credit and delayed Amul bills.
Milk prices rose from Rs 9 to Rs 11.25 per pouch in 2025.
The civic accounts department said bills are routinely cleared after approval and it had received no urgency communication.
- Who
- About 5,500 children at 400 Vadodara Municipal Corporation anganwadis, the Integrated Child Development Services, the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation, and the municipal accounts department.
- What
- The supply of milk pouches to the anganwadis was discontinued, leaving children without their scheduled milk servings.
- Where
- Anganwadis operated by the Vadodara Municipal Corporation in Vadodara, Gujarat.
- When
- The supply stopped on September 17; the disruption had lasted about a week as of September 23.
- Why
- The child-development department said its credit balance with Amul was exhausted because of higher milk prices and late bills; the municipal accounts department said it clears bills when received and had not been told of an urgency.
Child-Development Department
Amul and Municipal Accounts Perspectives
Cause of the supply disruption
Child-Development Department
District Programme Officer Hiral Thakore said the three-month credit balance was exhausted after milk prices increased, and late bill submissions disrupted the payment cycle.
Amul and Municipal Accounts Perspectives
The Amul coordinator was unavailable for comment. An Amul official said the cooperative supplies milk to civic bodies under the Doodh Sanjeevani Yojana arrangements.
Timing of bill submissions
Child-Development Department
The Integrated Child Development Services said Amul submitted July's bill only on September 3 and had not submitted August's bill by September 23, despite requests for bills by the 10th.
Amul and Municipal Accounts Perspectives
Vadodara Municipal Corporation Chief Accountant Santosh Tiwari said the accounts department had no information about delayed bill submissions and clears bills whenever they are received.
Payment urgency and processing
Child-Development Department
The child-development department said it sent the July bill for processing but could not make an immediate payment because departmental work takes time, while Amul discontinued supply.
Amul and Municipal Accounts Perspectives
The municipal accounts department said bills normally take five to six days for audit approval and that it can expedite the process when urgency is communicated; it said neither the department nor supplier had done so.
Key facts
- Children affected
- Approximately 5,500
- Anganwadis affected
- 400 under the Vadodara Municipal Corporation
- Milk allocation
- 100 millilitres per child, five days a week
- Age group
- Children from six months to six years
- Supply stoppage
- September 17
- Milk price change
- From Rs 9 to Rs 11.25 per pouch in 2025
- Last payment cited
- Processed on August 21, for June's bill
Quotes
Santosh Tiwari
Chief Accountant of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation
“The issue arose because Amul does not hand over bills to us in time. The last payment that was processed on August 21 was for the month of June, as the bill was received late.”
indianexpress.com
“If an urgency is communicated we can expedite the audit process too.”
indianexpress.com
Sources
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