Who’s Really Milking the Benefits? Assam Dairy Loans Under Fire

As the Assam government touts its subsidised loan schemes for dairy farmers as a game-changing support system for rural livelihoods, an unsettling ground reality tells a different story — one where the poor are sidelined and the powerful prosper.

In Bongaigaon, where small-scale dairy farmers have toiled for over a decade to sustain their modest businesses, despair now replaces hope. For many like Raju Das (name changed), a 12-year veteran in the dairy trade, the scheme was once a beacon of relief. He applied for aid five years ago. Since then, nothing — no acknowledgment, no follow-up, no support. His application might still be gathering dust in some forgotten drawer of the district veterinary office.

This is not just an administrative lapse. This is systemic neglect — and perhaps something far more sinister.

Recent revelations have blown the lid off the state’s much-hyped dairy subsidy scheme, pointing toward gross misuse and political patronage. Among the so-called beneficiaries are names that raise troubling questions. One of them is Dr. Sankar Kr. Das — a wealthy, prominent businessman from Bongaigaon. More glaring are the names of family members of Assam cabinet minister Jayanta Mallabaruah, including his own wife, and relatives of BJP stalwart Siddhartha Bhattacharya.

Let that sink in — while genuine farmers are denied aid, families of ministers and political elites are securing loans and subsidies in the name of “dairy entrepreneurship”.

When confronted, Minister Mallabaruah didn’t just defend the move — he doubled down with arrogance. “Even Ambani or Adani can get the subsidy,” he claimed, citing that anyone with repayment capacity is eligible. The minister explained, almost unapologetically, that his wife — a repeat loan taker — had started a dairy firm with 60–70 high-yielding cattle and was rightly given the subsidy.

But here lies the hypocrisy.

Mallabaruah admitted that “dairy is not a profitable business” and that “there is no break-even point”. So why, one might ask, are elite families with other profitable ventures entering into an industry known for its financial instability — only to extract public subsidies from a scheme meant to uplift struggling farmers?

And who, in such a system, is truly struggling?

The farmer with no land title, borrowing feed on credit and hoping his two cows don’t fall sick — or the minister’s wife with high-breed Gir cattle, land assets, and audited firms?

In his press conference, the minister went further — launching a bizarre counterattack on media house proprietors, accusing them of land encroachments and illegal constructions. This diversion tactic, classic in its intent, only highlighted his nervousness. Why shift the spotlight from the very real question of who gets what from public money?

A System Rigged for the Rich?

Mallabaruah’s logic is deeply flawed. Public subsidy schemes exist not to finance expansion of rich enterprises, but to level the playing field for those who cannot otherwise survive in an unequal economy. If Ambanis and Adanis can get subsidies — as the minister claims — then what hope is left for the daily-wage dairy farmer who sells milk on a bicycle?

This is not just about bad optics. It is about moral failure, and worse, economic betrayal. Every rupee of misallocated subsidy is a rupee snatched from a deserving farmer. Every politically-connected beneficiary on the list is a symbol of a rotting system where access is determined not by need, but by networks.

Where Is Accountability?

Why have names of powerful individuals turned up in a scheme meant to empower the weak? Where is the list of actual poor dairy farmers who received aid — and what percentage of the disbursed amount went to them? If this is a truly transparent and inclusive scheme, let the government publish full records: names, addresses, loan amounts, and subsidy components.

If this government is serious about agrarian welfare, then it must walk the talk — not line the pockets of the privileged under the garb of rural empowerment.

The Bigger Picture

Jayanta Mallabaruah’s justification reeks of entitlement. His statement — that “those who can repay loans should get them” — flips the entire purpose of subsidy on its head. Subsidy isn’t about helping the rich get richer. It’s about giving the poor a fighting chance. And in a sector like dairy — high-risk, low-return — that support could mean the difference between survival and surrender.

But today, Assam’s dairy dreams stand hijacked. And unless there is a course correction — led by transparency, fairness, and real empathy for the rural poor — schemes like this will continue to enrich the few, while leaving the rest to rot in silence.

In Assam, it’s no longer about cows and milk. It’s about power, privilege — and how deeply politics is milking the system.

Also Read: "Minister's Wife Or Dairy Farmers"? The Angst In Bongaigaon Over Govt Aid