Wayanad: At least 30 poultry farmers part of the Kerala Chicken project have moved the High Court against the state government and the cash-strapped Brahmagiri Development Society (BDS) over pending purchase arrears and security deposits to the tune of Rs 3.58 crore.

According to reports, the farmers, who are affiliated with the Kerala Chicken Poultry Farmers’ Federation (KCPFF), took the legal route after repeated discussions with the CPM leadership failed to yield results.

Musthafa PA, president of KCPFF, said BDS, which is controlled by CPM, collected Rs 3.58 crore from around 100 poultry farmers from the districts of Wayanad, Kozhikode, Kasaragod, Malappuram, Kannur and Palakkad.

He said that the majority of the farmers who invested in BDS had mobilized funds by availing loans, and “most of them are facing recovery procedures”. “We staged a protest at the head office of BDS on January 23 and the society leadership promised us to pay back the amount by March 31,” Musthafa said.

The CPM had attempted to resolve the issue by sending state secretary MV Govindan and Finance Minister KN Balagopal for discussions with the aggrieved farmers.

Meanwhile, BDS Chief Executive Officer Sukumaran Nair told Onmanorama that they received a notice from a farmers regarding the dues.

The BDS crisis
The agrarian cooperative entity that is affiliated with the Department of Dairy Development plunged into a financial abyss, putting more than 600 depositors and hundreds of stakeholders in a fix. BDS has reported a loss of Rs 80 crore.

Two months ago, a group of depositors barged into the BDS head office in protest after not being paid their monthly interest. Besides, Kerala Chicken, other BDS projects such as Malabar Meat and Wayanad Coffee are defunct now.