AG asks Odisha to oversee implementation of miners' CSR fund

Miners had pledged Rs 100 cr fund before Shah panel

The Accountant General (AG)-Odisha has urged the state government to oversee implementation of the Rs 100-crore fund for CSR (corporate social responsibility) proposed by mine owners for overall development in mine rich Sundergarh and Keonjhar districts.

“Following the directive of the Shah Commission of enquiry, some miners had proposed a CSR fund of Rs 100 crore. The AG wants the state government to get involved in the process and monitor the utilisation of funds meant for periphery development in mining zones of Keonjhar and Sundergarh districts,” said a source in steel & mines department.

On April 3, six miners had announced creation of Rs 100 crore corpus for peripheral development at mining areas in Keonjhar and Sundergarh districts in a submission before the Commission during the panel’s hearing in Ahmedabad. The panel is probing into large scale mining of iron ore and manganese without lawful authority.

These miners included KJS Ahluwalia, R P Sao, D R Patnaik, Indrani Patnaik, Sirajuddin & Company and Thriveni Earthmovers.

The proposal of the mine lessees was presented before the Shah commission by Supreme Court advocate Gopal Subramaniam.

This was in response to the Commission’s directive to miners to come out with a detailed blueprint for overall development of Keonjhar and Sundergarh districts. Though miners had reaped the bounties of these iron ore rich regions, there was no commensurate development for people affected by mineral extraction activities. As per the preliminary proposal, a trust will be created, with eminent social activists, independent experts, jurists and state government representatives as members, to oversee investment of the fund in various works related to development of communication infrastructure, health and education services and sanitation in the peripheral areas of the mines in these districts.

The miners have agreed to contribute five per cent of their net profit to the fund annually.