Funds created through the taxation of mining, to mitigate the social and environmental impact of extraction, are grossly under-utilised across Indian states, a Parliamentary report has found. Funds under the District Mineral Fund (DMF) in every district that has mining operations have been so grossly under-utilised that a Parliamentary committee on mining has questioned the entire operation of the fund, including identification of projects, accountability and transparency in deployment of the money, audit of the funds collected and timelines set for implementation of social projects.
