BHUBANESWAR: The State Government has started the process of setting up District Mineral Foundation (DMF) in mines bearing districts by finalising the rules.
Announcing this here recently, Minister of State for Steel and Mines Prafulla Mallick said the State Government has already prepared the DMF rules which have been submitted to the Law Department for its vetting.
The Minister said either the Revenue Divisional Commissioners (RDCs) or the district Collectors will be chairpersons of the Foundation. District level officers of Steel and Mines, Forest and Environment, Rural Development, Works, ST and SC Development and Health and Family Welfare Departments will be members. MPs, MLAs, member of Zilla Parishad and three members from Panchayati Raj Institutions or Urban Local Bodies will be taken in as members.
Corporate social responsibility (CSR) activities taken up by the mining companies will now be taken up by the Foundation.
The Steel and Mines Ministry had proposed to create a DMF in every district affected by mining, which will be funded by an additional levy related to royalty.
As per Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015, the State Government by notification will establish a trust, a non-profit body, to be called the DMF for districts affected by mining related operations.
Sources said an integrated action plan will be prepared for each of the mineral bearing districts keeping in mind the requirements of local people.
The Government is expecting mining royalty of Rs 1,500 crore to Rs 2,000 crore to the DMF from Keonjhar district alone. Even as MMDR Amendment Act, 2015 came into force from March 27, the tax to be paid as royalty to the DMF will be with retrospective effect from January 1, 2015. The amount to be paid to DMF has been fixed at 33 per cent of the royalty payable.