Bhubaneswar: Funds from the District Mineral Foundation (DMF), meant to provide various facilities and livelihood opportunities to people in mining-affected areas, have not been properly utilised in Odisha, according to the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG).
The CAG found that no project had been taken up in 584 mining-affected villages during the nine-year period from 2015-16 to 2023 24, while Rs 983 crore had been spent in 976 villages that were not affected by mining. The findings are part of the CAG’s performance audit of the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana and functioning of DMFs in Odisha.
At a press conference at the office of the Principal Accountant General here Monday, Principal Accountant General Subu R and Accountant General Atul Prakash said Rs 22,568.17 crore, including interest, had been collected as DMF contributions in six audited districts between 2015-16 and 2023-24. Of this, Rs 20,947.52 crore was sanctioned for 17,435 projects. However, none of the six DMFs selected for audit had prepared a long-term perspective plan or a master plan for the systematic utilisation of the funds, the audit found.
According to the audit, the six DMFs received Rs 20,795.51 crore in contributions and earned Rs 1,772.66 crore in interest between 2015-16 and 2023-24, taking the total funds available to Rs 22,568.17 crore. Of this, projects worth Rs 20,947.52 crore were sanctioned across 17,435 projects. The audit found that none of the six DMFs had prepared a long-term perspective plan or an integrated master plan for the systematic utilisation of the funds. Subu said 3,269 projects worth Rs 9,733.37 crore were sanctioned by the Kendu jhar DMF between 2015 and 2024. Of these, 757 projects — about 23% — were implemented without the approval of the Executive Committee or Board of Trustees.
Similarly, five projects worth Rs 102.71 crore were sanctioned by the Sundaragada DMF without the required approval. In scheduled areas, 26 projects were sanctioned without considering 620 projects submitted after obtaining Gram Sabha approval, the audit found. The audit also pointed to deficiencies in the management of DMF funds. In Mayurbhanj, Dhenkanal and Nabarangpur, the DMFs used deposit or auto-sweep account arrangements for additional DMF funds between 2015 and 2024, resulting in an interest loss of Rs 9.49 crore.
The Kendujhar DMF also suffered an interest loss of Rs 84.51 crore because its funds were not invested in fixed deposits, Subu said. The CAG report was tabled in the Odisha Assembly Sept 28 as Report No. 7 of 2026 and covers the implementation of the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana and functioning of DMFs for the year ended March 2024.