Over 120 years, military farms were an armed forces heritage

DEHRADUN: Military farms, which were established by the British Army for production and supply of “hygienic, wholesome and fresh cow’s milk” to troops located in garrisons across India will be closed permanently within the next three months. The farms, which have been an integral part of the heritage of the Indian Army are spread across the country in places like Ranikhet, Dehradun, Meerut, Deolali and Bareilly, among other locations.
The first farm was set up in 1889 at Allahabad. Over the next few decades, more than a hundred farms came up. They were essentially used for supply of fresh milk and butter to troops during peacetime, in the field as well as high-altitude areas on a daily basis. Apart from this they were also responsible for production, procurement and transportation of baled hay to animal transport units at their locations according to demand.
However with modernisation the farms have lost their relevance, or so claim veterans. Col (retd) S C Tyagi, an officer with the Army Service Corps, told TOI, “The farms were established at a time when there was no other alternative to fulfill the demands of soldiers, who needed nutritious supplements like milk and butter. In fact Military Farm Services is another arm of the Indian Army but now it is redundant, when everything is so easily available in markets at nominal rates. Maintaining the farms is just a cumbersome task and they have stopped being profitable.”
The farms have a miniscule cadre of 20 officers and civilian managers. The rest of the staff comprising approximately 2,000 workers are also civilian. They will be left unemployed once the farms shut down.
“In the next month, this unit will be shut down and the government officials will be posted to other places but the civilian workers will be jobless,” said an official of the military farm at Ranikhet.
However, a few veterans speaking nostalgically also said that the farms were very useful, especially for troops posted in remote locations. Brig (retd) Baljeet Singh said, “Now everything is available off the shelf but there was a time when the closest town was miles away from any unit location. This still holds true for some of the field areas, though things are moderately better now. At that time the farms would come in handy and ensure that we were also supplied with basic essentials like milk and butter. Their closing, though a practical decision, is the end of an institution.”