Himachal to have mineral foundation trusts in all districts

The Himachal Pradesh government has decided to constitute District Mineral Foundation Trusts in all the districts to assist and provide relief to those affected by mining.
"These trusts would not only provide relief to the people but also ensure development and preservation of areas affected by mining. Crores of rupees would be available for this purpose, state Industries Minister Mukesh Agnihotri told reporters here today.
The cabinet has already approved the proposal in this regard at its meeting held here yesterday and District Mineral Foundation Trust Rules have also been approved, he added.
Agnihotri said the trusts would be non-profit bodies headed by the Deputy Commissioner of each district with the Conservator of Forest, Superintending Engineers of Public Works and Irrigation and Public Health departments, Chief Medical Officer, General Manager, DIC, Mining Officer and four public representatives as members. The trusts would be established under section 9B of the Mining and Mineral Amendment Act, 2015.

The main objective behind the decision is to "work for the welfare of mining-affected families and improvement and development of mining-affected areas", he added.
The minister said the rules define 'affected families', 'displaced families', 'directly affected areas' and 'indirectly affected areas' which would be the prime beneficiaries of the trusts' funds. The trusts would have a perennial source of income generated by charging lessees of major and minor minerals at different rates.

Limestone is the major mineral of the state while minor minerals include sand, grit, stone etc.
In case of minor minerals, Rs 10 per tonne dispatched
shall be charged over and above the royalty, the minister said, adding that the funds shall be utilised only for purposes mentioned in the rules and not less than 50 per cent of it shall be spent on the directly-affected areas.

The minister said 20 per cent of the funds could also be spent on providing direct monetary benefits to the directly affected persons in cash to the women heads of the families on monthly or yearly basis.
The balance could be used for providing basic amenities in the affected areas such as drinking water, healthcare, education, toilets as well as on care of aged and disabled people, skill development, irrigation, rain water harvesting, environment preservation, pollution control measures etc.