District Mineral Foundation (DMF): Challenges and Recommendations

The provision of District Mineral Foundation (DMF) in India’s central mining law, ‘Mine and Minerals Development and Regulation (Amendment) Act, (MMDRA) 2015’, creates an opportunity to give the long-standing dues to the mine-affected communities and also restoring the sustainable ecosystem. A judicious utilization of the funds collected under the DMF towards both improving the socioeconomic status of the mining-affected communities and maintaining ecological balance in the affected areas remains a moot point of concern. Although the DMF looks like a progressive action by the government, a number of issues with regard to fair sharing of mineral resources for the affected communities are still unanswered. Along with those unanswered issues regarding fair sharing of resources, several other drawbacks, that have already been identified at this preliminary stage of DMF implementation, must be addressed to make DMF more effective.