Odisha Congress demands white paper on DMF fund irregularities

The Odisha Pradesh Congress Committee has demanded a white paper regarding the utilization of District Mineral Foundation (DMF) funds following a Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit that revealed significant irregularities. The party alleges that resources intended for the welfare of mining-affected communities have been diverted or underutilized.

According to the CAG findings, Odisha’s 30 DMFs collected ₹26,602.66 crore between 2015-16 and 2023-24. However, actual expenditure by March 2024 was only ₹15,817.56 crore, representing approximately 59.46% of the total funds. The audit highlighted that ₹983.32 crore was spent on 2,224 projects across 976 villages in Kendujhar and Sundargarh that were not identified as mining-affected areas. Conversely, 488 directly mining-affected villages and 96 indirectly affected villages reportedly received no DMF projects.

Specific instances of alleged mismanagement include the diversion of ₹136.77 crore from the Sundargarh DMF to construct the Rourkela International Hockey Stadium, a move flagged as irregular under Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) guidelines. Additionally, the audit identified 317 projects worth ₹679.14 crore that were approved outside of established norms. Senior Congress leader Sudarshan Das has called for the government to publish district-wise details of collections and expenditures and to hold accountable officials responsible for these discrepancies.