PANJIM: Directorate of Mines and Geology (DMG) has collected nearly Rs 38.92 crore under the District Mineral Foundation (DMF), which was started in January.
DMF was notified in both districts – North and South Goa – as per the Mines and Minerals Development (MMDR) Act 2015, wherein mine owners will have to shell out a third of their royalty payments for the development of mining areas.
As per information with the department, Rs 24.07 crore has been collected by the South district and another Rs 14.85 crore by the North district. Of this, 50 percent has been deposited in fixed deposit and government bonds.
Last season the State exported nearly 8.8 million tonnes of ore, of which 5 million tonnes was from the e-auction lot and the balance 3 million tonnes was freshly extracted ore. DMG is yet to undertake any project, like restoring the ecology damaged by mining, providing health facilities, education, social welfare, building road/bridge network, etc, through the collected funds.
DMF was constituted to adhere to the principles of sustainable mining, inter-generational equity, and to afford protection to the environment and ecology and meet the needs of mining affected persons and areas.
