About DMF
District Mineral Foundation (DMF) Fund of the District is an extra-budgetary resource to be utilized for the interest and benefits of the mining affected people and areas. Amongst all the extra-budgetary sources available like- Compensatory Afforestation Fund Management and Planning Authority (CAMPA),Odisha Mineral Bearing Areas Development Corporation (OMBADC), Odisha State Agriculture Marketing (OSAM) Board, Building& Other Construction Workers Welfare Board etc., the quantum of funds likely to be made available under DMF assumes significance for development of the areas and people affected by mining in the concerned Districts due to the volume of resources, magnitude of outreach and investment/ interventions touching lives and livelihoods of people and areas affected by negative externalities of mining related operations.
As per the provisions of sub-section (1) of Section-9B of the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) (MMDR) Act, 1957 the State Government shall notify the establishment of District Mineral Foundation in every District in the country affected by mining related operations.Sub-section (3) of Section-9B of the MMDR Act says that the rules for the functioning of the District Mineral Foundations are to be prescribed by the State Governments. The Government of India issued Pradhan Mantri KhanijKshetra KalyanYojana (PMKKKY) Guidelines to be implemented by DMF.
Accordingly, Odisha has framed the Odisha District Mineral Foundation Rules, 2015 under the provisions of Section 9B of the MMDR Act, 1957 with effect from 12th January, 2015. The Guidelines on Pradhan Mantri KhanijKshetra KalyanYojana (PMKKKY) has been incorporated in the said Rules. DMF Trusts have been constituted in all the districts of the State to implement various developmental and welfare projects/programmes in mining affected areas to minimize/mitigate the adverse impacts during and after mining on the environment, health and socio-economic conditions of the people in mining affected areas to ensure long term sustainable livelihood of the affected people.
Operationalisation of DMF Fund
It is envisaged that funds of DMF Trusts are to be utilised for implementation of prescribed activities-High Priority Activities and Other Priority Activities-as specified in Rule 10 of the DMF Rules. Such “High Priority”activitiesinclude projects relating to Drinking Water and Sanitation, Health Care, Education, Welfare of Women and Children, Skill Development, Preservation of Environment and Control of Pollution, Housing, Livelihood and Road Connectivity. Similarly, activities under “Other Priority” activitiesinclude- projects relating to Physical Infrastructure like roads, irrigation, Energy and Watershed Development and Afforestation.
While an Executive Committee under the Chairmanship of the Collector has been made responsible for day to day operational activities of the DMF, a Board of Trustees has been constituted for each DMF for overall control over the management and function of the Trust subject to the guidelines issued by the State Government from time to time. The DMF Trust Board of all the Districts are registered.
Need for Convergence
It is a known fact that convergence brings synergy among different Government programmes and schemes in terms of their budgeting, planning, process, man-power deployment and implementation, and thus facilitates optimum utilisation of available resources in achieving development goals. Therefore, it is often felt that there is need for convergence between budgetary and extra-budgetary resources, which will result in effective utilisation of available resources. This, in turn, will help achieving synergetic development. The objective of various fund convergence is to utilise the funds optimally under different development sectors to meet developmental need of the State and its people.