Context - In 2015, the Narendra Modi government amended the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act mandating auctions. As a part of the Bill, the government created a new body in the form of a District Mineral Foundation (DMF) where licensees and leaseholders pay the DMF a certain amount of the royalty.
Performance of District mineral foundation till now:
- DMF has received a corpus of almost ₹1 lakh crore through which decentralised community-centric development works are carried out in mining affected districts.
- Three lakh projects being sanctioned across 645 districts.
- DMF has been instrumental in setting up of women led SHGs in different states for example Odisha.
- some DMFs are ensuring inclusivity by including elected representatives in the governing bodies while some have non-elected members of gram sabhas as well.
- Some DMFs have also adopted measures such as establishing a dedicated engineering department and deputing personnel from the State Public Works Department to ensure the efficient implementation of projects.
About District Mineral Foundation
- Established under Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) (MMDR) Act, in 2015 in all the districts affected by mining.
- Accordingly, Section 9(B) of the MMDR Act provides for the establishment of DMF as a non-profit body.
- The objective of the District Mineral Foundation is to work for the interest and benefit of persons, and areas affected by mining related operations.
- State Government shall, by notification, establish a trust, as a non-profit body, to be called the District Mineral Foundation.
- The composition and functions of the District Mineral Foundation shall be such as may be prescribed by the State Government.
- The holder of a mining lease or a prospecting licence-cum-mining lease granted on or after the date of commencement of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act, 2015, shall, share some amount of royalty with DMF.