The Madras High Court has directed the Tamil Nadu Cooperative Milk Producers’ Federation Limited (TNCMPFL), the owners of the Aavin brand of dairy products, to popularise the reintroduction of the sale of milk through automatic vending machines (AVM), popularly known as ‘button paal,’ on a pilot basis at Kodaikanal in Dindigul district and Udhagamandalam (Ooty) in the Nilgiris district.
Justices N. Sathish Kumar and K. Rajasekar issued the direction after TNCMPFL Managing Director Ajay Yadav filed a status report before the court, informing it that the first AVM had been inaugurated at the Aavin hi-tech parlour in Thiagarajar Salai, Kodaikanal, on August 16, 2026, and the second AVM at Uzhavar Sandhai (farmers’ market) at Charing Cross in Udhagamandalam on August 17, 2026.
The court was told that though each of those AVMs could hold 200 litres of milk, approximately 80 litres of milk were sold in Kodaikanal during the first two days of the operation and about three to six litres of milk were sold per day during the initial days of the operation in Udhagamandalam. The unsold milk was taken back to the dairy for reprocessing in accordance with the prescribed procedure.
“The initial response from the public has been encouraging, and it is expected that the daily quantity of milk dispensed will gradually increase as more members of the public become aware of the facility and its availability. Necessary steps are being taken to maintain the AVMs in proper working condition and to ensure regular availability of milk for dispensing,” the status report read.
Mr. Yadav also stated that the performance of the AVMs would be monitored continuously to ensure their smooth and uninterrupted operation and that the daily sales/dispensing details would be recorded for assessing their utilisation and overall performance. He also urged the court to grant him about three more months to file a comprehensive report regarding the performance of the AVMs.
Amici Curiae T. Mohan, Chevanan Mohan, Rahul Balaji, and M. Santhanaraman told the court that unlike the old coin-operated milk dispensing machines (button paal) that were shut down completely in 2014, the new AVMs had touch screens and QR codes, synchronised with bank accounts, so that consumers could easily make payments through the Unified Payments Interface (UPI).
After taking note of all their submissions, the judges directed TNCMPFL to popularise the AVMs among the residents of Kodaikanal and Udhagamandalam so that they could be discouraged from purchasing milk in plastic sachets, which are considered harmful to the environment, and instead opt for the more environment-friendly system of purchasing milk in their own containers.
