Goa's DMF rules will fall short of its objectives: CSE

A green body today said the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) rules by Goa Directorate of Mines recently will not only fall "short" of realising its objectives but can also be "counterproductive".
Centre for Science and Environment (CSE) said the rules which were notified following provisions of the Mines and Minerals (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957, as amended in 2015 was brought out without any public consultation and kept in public domain for exactly four days before being finalised.
It said Goa's DMF Rules 2016 do not follow central guidelines and will not meet DMF objectives.
"The Rules will not only fall short of realising the objectives with which DMF has been instituted, but can also be counterproductive. Several provisions remain in contravention of the schemes and guidelines put forth by the Central Government,"said CSE Deputy Director General, Chandra Bhushan.

The Goa government has recently notified the District Mineral Foundation Rules 2016 which make it mandatory for mine owners to pay one-third of their royalty payment for developing areas in the mining belt.
CSE said the Goa DMF Rules are chiefly focused on the 'utilisation' of DMF funds, pushing many crucial issues to the backseat. With such pre-occupation with fund utilisation, it has even missed out on providing a broad objective within which DMF should function in the state, Bhushan said.

"The Rules lack a people's focus, create scope for fund misuse and show lackadaisical treatment of this important institution," he said.

Noting that a major "frustration" with the Goa DMF Rules is the stated functions (Rule 4), CSE said it includes a number of things for which DMF money should not be used like functions such as "restoring the ecology damaged by mining" in affected areas or "installing pollution control devices, sewage treatment plants".
CSE said the DMF money should not be used for any of these, it pointed out that putting in place pollution control measures, restoring ecology and others were responsibilities of the company or individuals undertaking mining activities.
Noting that the institutional structure lacks detail,
Bhushan said, the only elaboration is of the 'power, duties and responsibilities' of a 'Member Secretary' for every DMF.

"This shows how the Government has failed to recognise DMF as an institution of the people, making it a top-down one," he said, adding that even where the Rules broadly mention who should be made members of DMF, only people with 'specialised' knowledge have been listed, which completely leaves out the members of mining-affected communities in the decision-making bodies or processes.
Observing that the composition of DMF also lacks "checks and balances", CSE said, this was a primary reason why the Centre in a Model DMF Trust Deed had suggested a two-tier institutional structure consisting of a Governing Council and a Managing Committee while the Goa DMF Rules undermine such a possibility.

"The DMF should have been made a professionally organised and democratically functioning institution. There should have been a multi stakeholder representation, with adequate involvement of people from mining-affected communities," said Bhushan.
CSE said the Rules also give very limited definitions of 'affected areas' and 'affected persons'.
"These (definitions) should have further been spelled out as they are crucial for ensuring that the DMF funds are used effectively and serve intended beneficiaries," Bhushan said.
The Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY), the guideline that the Centre had issued to the state governments in September 2015 gave very clear definitions of these and emphasised on some critical aspects which Government of Goa has left out, CSE said.

The green body said that the Rules have also not identified "priority areas" where a major share of DMF money must be used and are of prime importance for uplifting the socio-economic status of people in the mining areas.
CSE said the provisions to ensure transparency and accountability of DMF "very weakly" spelt out.