By Bizodisha Bureau, Bhubaneswar, January 7, 2016: Thirteen District Mineral Foundations (DMF) have so far come up in Odisha out of the 30 districts, according to union mines minister Narendra Singh Tomar.

“The talks were regarding formation of the DMFs in the State. The chief minister assured me that he will ensure early formation of the DMF in other districts,” Tomar told reporters after meeting chief minister Naveen Patnaik at the Secretariat here.

The Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Amendment Bill, 2015 has made it mandatory to form DMFs in the districts where mining activities are being undertaken to take care of the interests of locals. The DMFs will have to consult the gram panchayats in the district while taking major decisions and will provide periodic reports on the projects undertaken by them.

The chief minister has given his nod to provide a bauxite block to Nalco for expansion purposes.

Tomar also attended the foundation day function of Nalco here. Earlier in the day, he inaugurated the Indian Bureau of Mines (IBM) office in Bhubaneswar.

Meanwhile, the State’s Mines minister Prafulla Mallick said, “Legal aspects are being explored to transform abandoned mines into tourist spots. This can be done with a joint effort of the Centre and State government.