Delineating Directly Mining-Affected Areas

November 13, 2019

District Mineral Foundation (DMF) was instituted under the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Amendment Act 2015, with the specific objective to ‘work for the interest and benefit of persons and areas affected by mining-related operations’. The funds accrued to DMF Trusts in various mining districts should be used for uplifting socioeconomic and human development conditions of mining-affected people and areas. Therefore identification of the affected people and appropriate delineation of the affected areas is a prerequisite for planning DMF fund use, making investments targeted, and minimizing the scope of ad hoc spending.

Recognizing the fact that DMF funds must be used in an ‘organized and structured manner’, the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY), which provides guidelines on various aspects of functioning of DMFs, has defined who the mining-affected people are, and how can mining-affected areas be identified and delineated.1 Further, as all areas in a mining region are not equally affected by mining and related operations, ‘directly miningaffected areas’ and ‘indirectly mining-affected areas’ have been clearly distinguished. The intended purpose is to prioritize DMF fund use in directly affected areas.