Section 9B of MMDR Act empowers State Governments to establish District Mineral Foundation (DMF) to take up development programmes in mining affected areas. The Pradhan Mantri Khanij Kshetra Kalyan Yojana (PMKKKY) provides implementation framework for schemes to be undertaken for welfare and development of mining affected areas and people through the funds collected under DMFs. PMKKKY provides for utilization of at least 70% of the funds for high priority sectors including education, skill development and livelihood generation, and up to 30% of funds to be utilized for other priority sectors including physical infrastructure. Till January 2025, Rs 1,04,251 Cr. has been collected, out of which Rs 88,483 Cr. has been sanctioned for 3.69 lakh projects. A total 2.08 lakh projects have been completed and an amount of Rs.55,924 Cr. has been spent in 645 DMF districts in 23 States in the country.

The safety, health and welfare of workers employed in mines is regulated by the Mines Act, 1952 and the Rules/ Regulations framed thereunder. The provisions for the welfare of persons employed in mines are implemented through the Directorate General of Mines Safety (DGMS), which comes under the administrative control of Ministry of Labour and Employment. DGMS has been entrusted the task of inspection of mines to ensure the compliance of the provisions of Mines Act, 1952. DGMS has taken various steps to reduce the fatalities in mine and to enforce the safety of workers engaged therein, which inter alia include inspection of accidents and dangerous occurrence to ascertain cause and circumstances, regular inspection of mines, development of standards protocols, holding national conference on safety in mines, observance of safety weeks, campaigns, awareness etc. Additionally, the Mine Owners/Lessees are as such making necessary arrangements for the welfare, health and safety of the miners as per the provisions of the Mines Act, 1952. Further, necessary provisions have been made in the Metalliferous Mines Regulations 1961 and the Coal Mines Regulations 2017 for the protection of miners from dust, smoke and noxious gases while working within the mine boundary.

As per section 23C of the MMDR Act 1957, State Governments are empowered to make rules for prevention of illegal mining, transportation and storage of minerals for both major and minor minerals and for purposes connected therewith. Therefore, matters relating to illegal mining come under the legislative and administrative jurisdiction of State Governments. The Central Government supports and augments these efforts through policy initiatives from time to time. Some of the steps taken by the Central Government for the prevention and control of illegal mining include:

i. The 2015 amendment to the MMDR Act 1957 introduced tough penalties for illegal mining, including up to five years imprisonment and fines up to ₹5 lakh per hectare, and provision to establish Special Courts for expedited trials.

ii. Rule 45 of the Mineral Conservation and Development Rules, M(CDR) 2017, provides for measures to ensure scientific management of the mining process.

iii. The Ministry of Mines, through IBM, has developed the Mining Surveillance System (MSS), in coordination with Bhaskaracharya Institute for Space Applications and Geo-informatics (BISAG), Gandhinagar and Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY), to use space technology for curbing illegal mining activity in the country

Environment preservation, Pollution control as well as Health Care are under the High Priority Sectors of PMKKKY under which projects are carried out using DMFs funds. Till January 2025, a total of 8,792 projects have been undertaken under Environment Preservation & Pollution Control and 21,548 projects have been undertaken under Health Care sector by DMFs, as per details given below:

Sectors	Number of Projects	Amount Allocated (In Cr.)	Amount Spent (In Cr.)
Environment Preservation and Pollution Control	8,792	1,629.92	1,023.27
Health Care	21,548	8,640.18	6,156.76

This information was given by Union Minister of Coal and Mines Shri G. Kishan Reddy in a written reply in Lok Sabha today.

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Shuhaib T

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