ED asks Chhattisgarh govt to provide details of DMF funds spent in 5 yrs

ED also sought details of agencies and departments that carried out the stipulated works in the districts using the funds

The Enforcement Directorate (ED) has asked the Chhattisgarh government to provide details of the money spent through contractors in works sanctioned under the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) for the last five years, officials aware of the development said on Thursday.

Chhattisgarh, which is one of the 13 mineral-rich states, has collected ₹10,513 crore under DMF so far and spent ₹7,928 crore, according to the state government’s website (HT archive)

In a July 27 letter, ED sought details of year-wise funds collected under the DMF and their allocation to the districts in Chhattisgarh, other than Korba. ED sought details about Korba district in 2022.

HT has assessed the letter sent by ED to JP Maurya, director of the state’s ecology and mining department.

The object of the District Mineral Foundation, set up as a non-profit body in districts by the state government, is to work for the interest and benefit of persons and areas affected by mining-related operations. Since 2015, mining companies have to deposit 10% of the royalty paid to the state government to DMF for major minerals such as coal and iron ore, with states having discretion to utilise the funds for socio-economic development in the mining areas.

Chhattisgarh, which is one of the 13 mineral-rich states, has collected ₹10,513 crore under DMF so far and spent ₹7,928 crore, according to the state government’s website.

ED has also sought details of agencies and departments that carried out the stipulated works in the districts using the funds.

“Details of contractors’ firms to whom the works under DMF were allotted, along with their PAN card, GSTIN and addresses. Project work-wise details of payment made by these agencies /departments to the contractors’ firms along with details of bank accounts from which payment was made,” the ED letter said.

It also sought guidelines and regulations on utilising the DMF funds along with restrictions imposed, if any, for appropriate use of these funds.

ED sought the information by August 4 under Section 54 of the Prevention of Money Laundering Act (PMLA).

“I received the letter on August 1 and submitted the details a few days ago following the instructions from the department concerned,” said a district collector, requesting anonymity.

It was not immediately clear if ED has registered a formal case in connection with utilisation of DMF funds.

“The letter does not mention so,” a state government official said, declining to be named. There is no Enforcement Case Information Report (ECIR) number mentioned in the letter, which means they have sought the information just for scanning the details and till now no case has been registered, the official added.

JP Maurya did not respond to questions about the ED letter despite several attempts.

According to the Chhattisgarh government’s website, Of the total ₹7,928 crore expenditure, ₹1,404.93 crore has been spent on projects related to education and ₹651.99 crore on health services. A total of 7,874 projects related to agriculture and allied activities under DMF fund have been approved.

Only ₹171.5 crore have been spent on environment protection and pollution control measures under DMF.

According to a July 21 report of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India (CAG) on mining in Chhattisgarh, the state government declared 22 districts as mining affected areas in January 2016. The audit report observed that existing control measures prescribed by the mining department to curb illegal mining activities were not being compiled properly and pointed to the absence of a comprehensive database of quarry leases, and boundary pillars/boundary marks to indicate the demarcation of the quarry lease area. It said this resulted in non-identification of quarrying activities beyond the sanctioned lease areas.