Category: Mining

‘Centre studying Goa’s proposal on MMDR Act’

PANAJI: Refraining from giving any specific assurance regarding Goa government’s proposal for amending the Mines and Miners (Development and Regulation) Act 1957, the Union ministry for mines has said the proposal has been under examination.

In a written reply to the unstarred question raised by South Goa MP Narendra Sawaikar in the Lok Sabha on Thursday the Union Minister of State for Mines and Coal Haribhai Parthibhai Chaudhary said the proposal has been under examination of the mines ministry.

“A proposal has been received from the government of Goa to amend the MMDR Act and the same is under examination of the ministry of mines,” the reply stated. The reply also stated that as per the information provided by the government of Goa the annual revenue from mining in the state for financial year 2017-18 was Rs 510.19 crore of which Rs 267.11 crore was from royalty, Rs 165.85 crore was from the Goa Iron Ore Permanent Fund, Rs 72.47 crore was from the District Mineral Foundation and Rs 4.76 crore from the National Mineral Exploration Trust.

Reacting to the reply from the mines ministry, Sawaikar wrote that at least the “theory and the propaganda” that the Goa government’s proposal has been rejected by the mines ministry has been put to rest now.

Courtesy: The Navhind Times

District Mineral Fund collections top ₹22,800 cr

Business Line | Dec 21, 2018

Slow pace of utilisation raises fears of diversion
The Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojna (PMKKY) has accrued ₹22,859 crore till November, but what has been utilised is around ₹5,529 crore. The slow pace of District Mineral Fund (DMF) utilisation has fed fears of these funds being diverted by State governments for being spent in other regions or for other purposes too.

The condition worsens in States like Jharkhand where ₹471.98 crore were collected from Chatra district till October but have translated into sanctioned expenditure of just ₹93.46 crore and an incurred expenditure of ₹28.73 crore.

The highest DMF contributions have been reported from Odisha at ₹5,599.5 crore. Chhattisgarh comes second at ₹3,223.80 crore and Jharkhand comes third at ₹3,319.01 crore. The PMKKY was launched in September 2015 to provide for the welfare of areas and people affected by mining related operations, using the funds generated by DMFs. The DMFs were to be funded by earmarking 10 per cent or 30 per cent of the royalty proceeds from the minerals that were produced in these districts.

Of all the funds accrued, 60 per cent have to be spent for drinking water supply, health care, sanitation, education, skill development, women and child care, welfare of aged and disabled people, skill development and environment conservation.

The balance funds are to be spent on making roads, bridges, railways, waterways projects, irrigation and alternative energy sources.

According to officials in the Ministry of Mines, the pace of DMF utilisation is expected to improve as mineral rich state governments are now assured of collectively getting around ₹700 crore every month through the DMF.

“The sustained income for States can help better planning of fund expenditure by the state governments,” a Mines Ministry official told BusinessLine.

“The DMF is meant to foot the bill for development activities in mining affected districts. That diversion of funds will not be allowed without the approval of the centre and such a situation will arise only when all development activities of a district have been completed,” he added.

Concern over poor implementation of district mineral fund in Indian states

In spite of the Mines Minerals Development and Regulation (MMDR) Act, 2015, giving instructions to respective state governments to form District Mineral Fund (DMF) Trust, it has taken almost 3 years for most of the states to set it up and frame rules. Worse, its implementation is still lagging, and most people still do not have any clue about what is DMF and that it exists.

Highlighting this at a state-level consultation on Children in Mining Area, Illegal Mining and District Mineral Fund (DMF), organized on December 16 by civil rights organizations, Samata, and mines minerals and people (mm&P), and collaborated by local organizations Jan Sangram Parishat and Sakhi Trust at Ballari, Karnataka, secretary-general mm&P Ashok Shrimali appealed to the Union and State Governments to create awareness among the people about DMF, its process and implementation.

Shirmali urged state governments to involve the affected people in the process of planning and implementation of projects regarding the utilization of DMF funds. He highlighted that “planning process should start from the grass-roots level, after mapping the issues covering various aspects that would be for the benefit of the posterity.”

Youth leader from Sandur, Amreesh and Kondamma, a participant and representative from the mining affected community, stated that women and vulnerable communities like SC/ST should have representation in DMF planning, execution and implementation stages. They also emphasized that DMF funds should be utilized only for the betterment and rehabilitation of the mining affected communities and not for infrastructure purposes.

In the context of Karnataka, it was reflected that after the formation of DMF, Rs 1,220 crore had been collected from the mining firms till October 2018, of which the highest was from Ballari Rs 748 crore. The DMF has proposed 1,451 works estimated at Rs 638 crore, while the expenditure till date has been a mere Rs 48 crore.

— Sayantani Sarkar, Samata

Courtesy: Counterview

Call to include mining-affected persons in works taken up under DMF funds

Mines, Minerals and People (MMP) a non-governmental organisation fighting for the rights of the people, particularly of those affected by mining activities, will urge the Union and the State governments to involve people in the process of planning and implementation of projects and programmes being taken up utilising District Mineral Foundation (DMF) funds.

“People, particularly the affected, should be involved in the entire process, right from planning to implementation,” Ashok Srimali, general secretary of MMP, said here on Sunday.

“Irreparable damage has been caused to nature due to mining and people have also been severely affected. Though DMFs have been formed, the affected people have not been involved in the process of planning and implementation. MMP has launched a campaign all over the country, to create awareness among the people about the advantages of DMF,” he said.

“Planning process should start from the grass-roots level, after mapping the issues covering various aspects that would be for the benefit of the posterity,” he said.

After the formation of DMF in Karnataka, Rs. 1,220 crore had been collected from the mining firms till October 2018, of which the highest was from Ballari at Rs. 748 crore. The respective DMF have proposed 1,451 works estimated at Rs. 638 crore, while the expenditure has been a mere Rs. 48 crore.

Courtesy: The Hindu, Ballari, 17-12-2018

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