Mumbai, April 18 -- The state dairy development department will soon restart milk production under the Aarey brand, and distribute the same via 1,800 Aarey stalls across the city, acting dairy commissioner Prashant Mohod said. "We have asked Mahananda (milk cooperative) to produce 50,000 litres of milk under the Aarey brand. Later, we will ask them to produce flavoured milk under the Energee brand. These products will be supplied to Aarey stalls across Mumbai," Mohod said. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region (MMR) consumes nearly 60 lakh litres of milk per day. The city had three government-owned dairies till the 1990s, at Aarey Colony, Kurla and Worli. Aarey Colony had cowsheds as well and the Aarey brand dominated the milk distribution scheme. The establishment of milk cooperatives, however, led to the downfall of government-owned dairies and milk packaging units of all the three dairies shut down. Many plots in Aarey Colony were diverted for non-diary purposes, such as Metro car shed, petrol pumps, state reserve police campus, cremation grounds, and housing colonies. The Kurla dairy plot was handed over to Mother Dairy; later, a large portion of the plot was allocated for housing slum dwellers displaced by the Dharavi redevelopment project who were ineligible for rehabilitation at site. The Worli dairy plot also houses the office of the dairy commissioner, which was once a plum posting. The office building, where many department officials still use, is crumbling, and no IAS officer wants to be appointed dairy commissioner, officials said. Mohod, who has been given charge as dairy commissioner, said the dairy development department once had 15,000 employees but were now left with just 950. "As per a government resolution dated October 10, 2024, employees of the dairy development department will be accommodated in the animal husbandry department and the remaining can be declared excess staff," Mohod said. The Mumbai Metropolitan Region Development Authority (MMRDA) will plan the development of the 6.40-hectare Worli dairy plot. An iconic project will be executed on the plot which will generate revenue as well as jobs, officials said....