Rs 900 Crore to Boost Growth of 8 Mineral-rich Districts

BHUBANESWAR: The State Government on Monday decided to utilise around Rs 900 crore in eight mineral bearing districts for inclusive growth of people affected by mining activities.

It was decided at a high level meeting chaired by Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik here.

The State Government had set up Odisha Mineral Bearing Area Development Corporation (OMBADC) in 2014 for undertaking developmental activities for inclusive growth of people residing in mineral-bearing areas of the State.

With a deposit of Rs 850 crore, OMBADC has been directed to utilise the fund for construction of pucca houses, supply of drinking water and sanitation activities in the eight districts.

It has been decided to use the fund for infrastructure development of 508 villages in 64 gram panchayats (GPs) of 33 blocks in the mineral bearing districts of Keonjhar, Angul, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj and Koraput, Forest and Environment Secretary Suresh Chandra Mohapatra said.

Incorporated as a public company on December 2, 2014, the objective of the Corporation is to improve infrastructure, facilitate livelihood enhancement, income enhancement of tribal and vulnerable households, boost human development index, environmental sustainability and reduce income disparity of people in the mineral bearing areas whose livelihood has been seriously affected due to over exploitation of mineral resources.

The first Board of Directors (BoD) meeting of the Corporation was held here on December 30, 2014 and it had approved an action plan worth Rs 818 crore for carrying out developmental activities in the eight mineral bearing districts.

While the Government is silent on utilisation of Rs 818 crore approved towards the fag end of 2014-15 fiscal, sources said the Corporation had allocated funds to departments concerned for implementation of the approved plan.

Instead of allocating the funds to the eight districts, several departments had distributed their funds among the districts.

The Corporation draws its funds from additional net present value (NPV) realised from mining leases. It has been decided that about 50 per cent of such NPV will be utilised through the Corporation for the development of the mineral bearing areas. The State Government has provided Rs  one lakh as token of share capital.

The Chief Minister has also directed Chief Secretary AP Padhi to ensure that the fund available with the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) is properly utilised for development of the mineral bearing districts.

Though the State has so far constituted DMFs in 12 mineral-bearing districts, they have remained non-functional, official sources said.

Mines Move

Fund to be used for infra development of 508 villages in 64 GPs of 33 blocks in Keonjhar, Angul, Dhenkanal, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Sundargarh, Mayurbhanj and Koraput

50 per cent of such NPV will be utilised through OMBADC for development of mineral bearing areas

Govt has provided Rs one lakh as token of share capital