10 year of District Mineral Foundation (DMF) | Current Affairs | Vision IAS
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10 year of District Mineral Foundation (DMF)

Posted 27 Mar 2025

2 min read

Ministry of Mines, through amendment in Mines & Minerals (Development & Regulation) (MMDR) Act, in 2015, has made a provision for establishment of DMF in all districts affected by mining.

About DMF 

  • DMFs are established as a non-profit Trust in 645 districts across 23 states.
  • Objective: To work for the interest and benefit of persons and areas affected by mining related operations.
  • Composition and functions of DMF shall be such as may be prescribed by State Government.
  • DMF also given responsibility to implement Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY).
    • Under PMKKKY, 70% of the fund should go for high priority and 30% for other priority sectors
  • Fund collected: DMFs have accumulated over Rs 1,03,000 crores

Key Issues with DMF and PMKKKY

  • Unspent Funds: More than half remains unspent due to poor fund deployment and execution.
    • Only 3 states have allocated over 70% of funds toward high-priority sectors.
  • Lack of Local Representation: DMF bodies are dominated by officials and political members; only 5 states have mining-affected communities in the Governing body.
  • Lack of Planning: No districts have published a five-year perspective plan despite a 2022 directive. 
  • Impact Assessments: DMFs have not conducted social audits or impact assessments to measure the effectiveness of their investments.

Way Forward

  • Restructure DMF bodies to increase the representation of mining-affected communities, 
  • Establish an independent DMF investment board for prudent fund management, 
  • Align DMF investments with just transition measures, etc.
  • Tags :
  • District Mineral Foundation
  • DMF
  • Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY)
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