Kaliapani: Crores of rupees in Jajpur’s District Mineral Foundation (DMF) fund are allegedly not being utilised for development of mineral-bearing areas like Kaliapani, a report said.
Upset over this, locals of Kaliapani and members of Khani Anchal Surakhya Manch, a local outfit fighting for the development of the area, held a meeting and alleged that the administration is not effectively utilising DMF fund in their area.
The administration is going to hold a review meeting on DMF fund utilisation June 29 and the outfit has decided to oppose the meeting.
Heads of all departments, engineers, officials of the education department, and BDOs of all blocks will be at the meeting to be chaired by the District Collector to review the progress of the ongoing projects and some proposals.
The members of the Khani Anchal Surakhya Manch further alleged that the fund collected from mining firms in 2016 has been poorly utilised while DMF funds were utilised in non-mineral bearing areas.
Keshab Hensa, president of the outfit, said that the DMF fund is supposed to be spent in mineral-bearing areas exclusively, but it is being utilised elsewhere here.
“The purpose for which the DMF is meant is hardly met when funds are allocated for projects in non-mineral bearing areas,” he lamented.
Poor spending of DMF fund remained a cause of concern in some areas. The state government has laid stress on expediting the spending with proper planning in mineral bearing areas.
The Amended Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act-2015 has made provision of the DMF for districts affected by mining-related activities. The fund has been created with contribution from mining leaseholders and it is being utilised for the socio-economic development of the people affected by mining activities.
The leaseholder of mines usually contribute 10 per cent of the royalty towards DMF in respect of mining leases granted after January 12, 2015 (blocks received through auction) while the contribution is 30 per cent of the royalty for leases granted before that date.
Drinking water supply, education, healthcare, sanitation, skill development, housing, connectivity, livelihood programmes and environment conservation are some of the priority areas where the government spends DMF funds.
PNN