BHUBANESWAR: In a major move, the Odisha government has amended the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) Rules, 2015 to enhance transparency, accountability, and participation in the mining-affected districts.
Under the new rules, no fund can be transferred in any manner from the district mineral foundations to the state exchequer or state-level fund, the Chief Minister’s Relief Fund and any other funds or schemes.
The move was taken following widespread allegations that the funds were either diverted to urban areas or used for projects that had nothing to do with welfare of mining-affected areas or communities, during the previous government. As per the amended rules, sanction or approval of any expenditure of DMFs funds will be given by the Trust only. No fund will be spent outside the affected areas within a district, directly or indirectly, or for people other than those affected. Similarly, no fund can be transferred in any manner from one district to another except some specific cases as mentioned in the rules.
“The trust board of DMF concerned can only approve the expenditure of funds from DMF. The state government or state level committee will not have overarching authority on sanction of projects, approval of funds or expenditure and their function will be limited to monitoring effective implementation of projects sanctioned under DMF,” a government notification stated.
Apart from schemes for providing shelter to the persons who do not have pucca houses, provisioning of mobile connectivity, skill development programmes and livelihood activities, special programmes can be launched and medical support provided for welfare of aged and differently-abled people.
“The focus must be on people whose health is affected due to mining, and creation of primary or secondary healthcare facilities in affected areas. The emphasis should not be only on the creation of the healthcare infrastructure, but also on provision of necessary staffing, including doctors or paramedical or support staff, equipment and supplies,” the notification said. At least 70 per cent of DMF funds will be utilised for the high priority sectors and up to 30 pc for other priority sectors.