The union mines ministry can also investigate if a state is doesn’t follow DMF rules that mandate expenditure on welfare activities in districts where mining activities take place. “There are reports of DMF expenditure not being very well managed in some states. We want to plug the loopholes,” a senior official told ET.
DMFs are statutory authorities, operating like a trust, which a state government sets up in districts affected by mining. They are funded through the contribution from miners. States are expected to act upon any instances of DMF fund mismanagement.
“There is now a complaint mechanism under which the centre can order probes and even stop disbursing funds if states flout DMF rules in districts,” the official said.
According to the centre, DMFs have been set up in 645 districts across 23 States in the country which have framed DMF rules.
According to official data, ₹90,027.19 crore is the total amount collected under DMF since inception. Of this, ₹57,098.24 crore has been utilised. This led to the completion of 181433 projects worth ₹29,848.41 crore till date.The stricter monitoring is warranted after multiple Members of Parliament (MPs) flagged concerns about DMF funds being used for non-developmental activities.Besides monitoring by the centre, DMF are also now subject to audits by the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India. While the CAG has conducted audits of DMFs in the past, they were limited to assessing the efficacy in individual states. The current exercise assumes importance as it is taking a wider look at the DMF and its implementation on a national scale.
In 2015, the Centre made it mandatory for mines to contribute to DMF by amending the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957.
