Amid ghee shortage, TDB seals emergency deal with Milma

The Sabarimala Ayyappa temple

With shortage of ghee threatening to disrupt the production of Appam and Aravana at Sabarimala, the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) has sealed an emergency deal with Milma for 10,000 litres.

The board will procure the stock in two instalments after obtaining clearance from the Vigilance department. The first consignment of 5,000 litres was dispatched from Milma’s Pathanamthitta dairy on Thursday in a vehicle arranged by the cooperative dairy itself. “A consignment of 5,000 litres, brought from Milma’s Pathanamthitta dairy, will reach Pampa by evening. The stock, meant for preparing Appam and Aravana, will be moved to the Sannidhanam after quality checks,” sources said.

The anticipated shortfall at the beginning of the season is around 10,000 litres, officials said. Ghee supplies are expected to increase once the temple opens on November 16, though the shortage could affect the production of Appam and Aravana till then. The board will decide on further procurement only after assessing whether the ghee brought by pilgrims will be sufficient to meet the demand. Milma has quoted ₹660 per litre.

Controversy

The board had initially invited tenders for 10,000 litres of ghee but cancelled the process after a trader allegedly involved in last year’s ghee scam emerged as the lowest bidder. Though Milma did not participate in the tender, the TDB turned to the cooperative dairy after two rounds of tendering failed to secure an eligible supplier.

The return of Milma as a supplier to Sabarimala comes amid an ongoing probe by the Vigilance and Anti-Corruption Bureau (VACB) into the supply of spurious ghee to the Sannidhanam under its name last season. The investigation found that the contractor entrusted with transporting the ghee had diverted around 11,000 kg of Milma ghee meant for Sabarimala to Tamil Nadu and replaced it with a cheaper product.

Published - November 12, 2026 08:18 pm IST