Majhi government puts District Mineral Foundations under scanner

BHUBANESWAR : With the BJP government beginning to settle in, the much-anticipated crackdown on the functioning of District Mineral Foundations (DMFs) and alleged large-scale irregularities seems to be on the anvil.

The state government has decided to evaluate functioning of DMFs and implementation of projects taken up with their funds in mining districts. Rampant corruption in DMF management, misutilisation and misappropriation of funds was a major poll issue for the BJP. With Chief Minister Mohan Majhi, a long-time crusader against such irregularities, at the helm, the DMFs had to come under scanner.

So far Rs 28,220 crore, including Rs 21,810 crore in respect of major minerals, has been collected under DMF from Odisha, which is the highest in the country. Districts of Angul, Jajpur, Jharsuguda, Keonjhar, Sundargarh, Koraput, Rayagada and Mayurbhanj have made maximum contribution to the DMF.