Jajpur: Panchayati raj members of 10 gram panchayats of Sukinda block in the district have alleged gross misutilisation of the district minerals fund (DMF) here.

They have urged the district collector to spend the DMF only for the bonafide people affected or displaced by mining activities. The panchayati raj members, accompanied by hundreds of affected people of Sukinda Chromites Valley, met the district collector on Tuesday and submitted to him a memorandum in this regard.

Jajpur is one of the major mineral-bearing districts of the state and more than Rs 500 crores is collected as DMF from this district every year. Maximum DMF is collected from Sukinda Chromites Valley in Sukinda block of the district. But, project affected villagers alleged that the district authorities were not giving priority to them in spending the DMF money.

"The fund is being misutilised in the district. The money is being spent not in the affected areas but elsewhere in the district. So, people of the worst mining-affected areas are denied the fund. The district authorities mete out a stepmotherly treatment to the real project-affected people," said Jajpur Zilla Parishad member Pratap Chandra Para, who is also a member of the Jajpur DMF Trust Council.

The main objective of the DMF is to work for the interest of the benefit of the persons and areas worst affected by mining operations.

"More than 50,000 people under the 10 gram panchayats are badly affected by the Sukinda Chromites Valley But, the district authorities are not giving priority focus to the affected areas," said Kaliapani sarpanch Kalpana Jena.

"The health care scenario is bad in these areas. Public health care is in a shambles in our areas. There is no government hospital and gross shortage of health staff. About 22 children of Nagada died of malnutrition, which is the brightest example of public health care. Access to healthcare needs attention here," said local panchayat samiti member Sangita Pradhan.