Mining has again become a political battlefield in Odisha. While the opposition is up in arms over the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, calling it detrimental to the state’s financial interests and constitutional rights, the ruling BJP is going to town about a recent Comptroller and Auditor General report that spotted violations amounting to thousands of crores of rupees in the use of funds meant for district mineral foundations. The DMFs, set up in 2015, are meant to work on development and welfare in areas affected by mining operations.
Between 2015-16 and 2023-24, ₹26,602 crore was collected from mining leaseholders for the DMFs in Odisha, and ₹25,969 crore was sanctioned for projects. Close to 48 percent was spent in six of the state’s 30 districts during the tenure of the previous Biju Janata Dal government. While there were questions galore about the projects back then too, the CAG report validated the claims and gave ammunition to the BJP to launch an offensive against Naveen Patnaik’s BJD.
The audit revealed the massive scale of impropriety. In implementing projects not allowed under the rules—such as ₹136 crore for a hockey stadium and paying private hospitals over ₹145 crore for Covid-related services—the extent of the rot was staggering. In one case, an agency was paid ₹3.29 crore for hiring two bikes, an e-rickshaw and a car to transport 60,000 metric tonnes of waste in Rourkela. In Keonjhar, five students of an engineering college were given ₹2.57 crore for studying in an Australian university, while ₹25 crore was inappropriately used for buying multi-utility vehicles for police patrolling and renovating a reading room at the Sundargarh collector’s residence.
For the BJP, this presents an excellent chance to walk its talk. It may have weaponised the DMF issue to pin down the principal opposition party, but what it should do is probe every instance, fix responsibility on officers and recover the wrongly-spent amounts to the extent possible. Before it rode to power in 2024, the BJP had promised greater accountability. Now that its time has come, it must not just indulge in whataboutery for scoring political points and ensure a clean-up. Given their sheer volume, DMF funds can transform some of the most backward and tribal regions that are crying for the administration’s attention. This opportunity must not be lost.
