Bhubaneswar: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has flagged irregularities in the use of District Mineral Foundation (DMF) funds in Odisha, highlighting that Rs 136.77 crore was spent by the Sundargarh DMF on constructing a hockey stadium.
The expenditure, tabled in the Assembly through the CAG’s Performance Audit Report covering 2015-16 to 2023-24, was deemed inadmissible under the Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) guidelines, which restrict DMF spending to welfare and development projects in mining‑affected areas.
The report noted that the hockey stadium project did not fall under any permissible activity category, raising concerns over diversion of funds meant for rehabilitation, healthcare, and livelihood support in mining‑hit regions.
The report also highlighted serious gaps in targeting mining-affected areas. In Keonjhar and Sundargarh, 9,739 projects worth Rs 17,926.79 crore were sanctioned, but Rs 983.32 crore was spent on 976 non-affected villages, while no project was implemented in 488 directly affected and 96 indirectly affected villages.
The CAG noted that five of the six DMFs had not identified people requiring resettlement or rehabilitation in mining-affected areas. None had created an endowment fund despite receiving Rs 20,795.51 crore in DMF contributions and Rs 1,772.66 crore as interest during 2015-16 to 2023-24.