Dakshina Kannada district in-charge Minister Dinesh Gundu Rao on Friday said he will shortly convene a meeting of legislators from the district to discuss the use of the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) Fund for improving mining-affected areas and aiding people affected by mining activities.

Chairing a meeting on the utilisation of the DMF Fund here, Mr. Rao said there is scope in the DMF Fund to develop basic facilities, including roads, schools and Anganwadi buildings in areas affected by various mining activities including crushers, stone mining, sand mining etc. Since 2015 till now, ₹47.62 crore was collected in the DMF Fund at the rate of 10% of mining royalty.

The meeting with the legislators would discuss about appropriate utilisation of the monies available in the fund to undertake developmental activities.

Deputy Commissioner H. V. Darshan said the monies in DMF Fund can be utilised to undertake development work in the damaged areas within a 5-km radius of the mining area. Already, 57 different works were completed from the fund at a cost of ₹3.42 crore. He said that ₹1.59 crore was spent from the Fund for various health facilities during the COVID-19 period.

City Police Commissioner Sudheer Kumar Reddy, Superintendent of Police K. Arun, Zilla Panchayat Chief Executive Officer Narvade Vinayak Karbari, Mines and Geology Department deputy director Sandeep and others were present.