Thiruvananthapuram | Keralam Minister Bindu Krishna on Friday said alleged irregularities in ghee supplies to the Lord Ayyappa temple at Sabarimala had caused a loss of Rs 75.5 lakh to the TRCMPU.

Thiruvananthapuram Regional Co-operative Milk Producers' Union is one of the three regional unions under the Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd, popularly known as MILMA.

Replying to questions during Question Hour in the Assembly, the state Dairy Development minister said the union's governing body had been dissolved after the irregularities came to light and that a departmental-level probe was in its final stage.

The major loss occurred because ghee with a wholesale price of Rs 552 per litre was supplied at Rs 510 per litre, she said.

"Several allegations had surfaced in connection with the issue. As the irregularities were serious, the regional union was dissolved. A departmental-level investigation is under way and is in its final stage," Krishna said.

All relevant files related to the matter had been handed over to the Vigilance Department as part of the investigation, she said.

The role of the contractor responsible for transporting ghee to Sabarimala was being investigated as well.

Krishna said the Dairy Development Department was committed to ensuring that such irregularities did not recur and that strict action would be taken against those found guilty.

The government would also put in place a monitoring mechanism to oversee the entire supply chain, from the ghee production unit to its delivery at Sabarimala, she added.

Minister K Muraleedharan said the Travancore Devaswom Board (TDB) had informed the government that it would test the quality of ghee at Pamba before transporting it to the Sabarimala temple complex from the 2026-27 pilgrimage season.

The statements came amid allegations that MILMA had supplied inferior-quality ghee and that there were irregularities in the quantity supplied to Sabarimala during the 2025-26 pilgrimage season.

The state government had recently ordered a probe into the allegations.

A Special Investigation Team constituted by the Kerala High Court had registered an FIR as part of its investigation into the alleged irregularities in the procurement and supply of MILMA ghee to the Ayyappa temple.