Chhattisgarh chief minister Bhupesh Baghel, who chaired a meeting of Mineral Trust's State Level Monitoring Committee at his official residence in Raipur on Sunday, made it clear to respective officers that DMF money could not be used for organizing fairs or for any other matters, and to monitor the expenditure made of DMF money, a state-level cell must be constituted for social audit.
In the meeting, the CM was discussing the state-level utility of DMF funds, income and expenditure, an official communiqué said.
The CM directed the concerned officials to allocate the amount under DMF directly and indirectly affected districts of the state on the basis of the prescribed ratio. "Besides, the mining affected districts of the state, funds under DMF should also be allocated to the five newly-formed districts, so that the development works there can be completed on time with priority," the CM said in the meeting.
"For the purchase of health and education-related equipment, the departmental budget should be utilized. DMF items should not be used for this purpose," he warned.
The CM also cautioned the officials not to use DMF money for the purchase of vehicles for official use. However, the equipment required for Swami Atmanand Excellence Schools can be purchased using DMF, he added. The CM further mentioned that the procurement of vehicles for essential services such as ambulances and others can be utilized.
Apart from these, the CM also asked the officials to take necessary action to withdraw the stay order imposed on the diamond mine of the Gariaband district so that the operation of the mine can be resumed.
In the meeting, apart from senior bureaucrats, Health Minister T.S. Singhdeo, Agriculture and Water Resources Minister Ravindra Choubey, Forest and Transport Minister Mohammad Akbar, Additional Chief Secretary to Chief Minister Subrat Sahu, Secretary Siddharth Komal Singh Pardeshi and others were present.
