'District mineral body should be people-centric'

The Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) has raised its apprehension over District Mineral Foundations (DMFs), created by Union Ministry of Mines and Steel with an aim to use the funds for the benefits of persons affected by mining activities in mineral bearing States like Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Karnataka, Gujarat and Odisha.

Director General, CSE, Sunita Narain said that there are many challenges with the DMF, but we must also remain positive about the prospects. We need to make sure that DMF is developed. States are required to frame rules for operationalising the DMFs, she said.With reference to Rajasthan’s recently released draft DMF rules, Narain said they (the rules) failed to make the DMF an institution “of the people and for the people.”

“This is evident in the mining-affected communities being kept out from every aspect of decision-making. The institutional design is deficient as it lacks multi stakeholder representation. It completely leaves out how the beneficiaries will be identified. There is little clarity and justification on how and where the money will be spent, rather some functions as such as spent on organizing melas, inter-school sports events which is completely meaningless. It largely renders DMF as another source of revenue to be used as ‘general development fund,” said Narain. She said that if States began to follow the Rajasthan model, the core idea of having a DMF would be defeated.

CSE released a set of recommendations aimed at the Governments in the mining States. Its key recommendations include setting clear guidelines for identifying beneficiaries; specifying how and where the money should be spent; specifying who should administer the funds and ensuring effectiveness, transparency and accountability of DMF.