IN THE HIGH COURT OF ORISSA AT CUTTACK W.P.(C) No. 18588 of 2024 Rajkishore Mishra …. Petitioner Mr. Gopal Krushna Nanda, Advocate -versus-

Govt. of Odisha and others …. Opposite Parties Ms. Aishwarya Dash, Additional Standing Counsel CORAM:

HON’BLE THE CHIEF JUSTICE AND HON’BLE MR JUSTICE MURAHARI SRI RAMAN

ORDER

Order No. 17.02.2026

01. 1. A seminal point involved in the instant writ petition is whether the authorities can charge District Mineral Foundation (DMF) and Environment Management Fund (EMF) on the additional charge levied in terms of the statutory rules. Prior to the amendment having made in the Mines and Mineral (Development and Regulation) Act, 1957 (in short "the MMDR Act"), there was no imposition of any liability towards the DMF.

2. Section 9-B of the said Act was introduced by virtue of an amendment Act 10 of 2015 to take effect on and from 12^th January, 2015 bringing the concept of the DMF which is to be set up by the Government as a Trust, which would be a non-profit body. The object can be gathered from the provisions of Section 9-B for constituting a Trust in the name of the ‘District Mineral Foundation’ that it would work in the interest and the benefit of the persons and the areas affected by the mining related operations. It is thus created to give a succor to persons of the locality who would be affected by such operations/activities and, therefore, the avowed object and the purpose underlying such incorporation are manifested therefrom.

3. Apropos, the said amendment having brought into the said Act, the Odisha District Mineral Foundations Rules, 2015 was framed, which was duly notified on 18^th August, 2015. Rule 9 of the said Rules postulates that all the holders of the mineral leases shall pay to the respective DMF, in addition to the royalty, an amount equivalent to such percentage of royalty as may be prescribed by the Central Government under sub-Section (5) or sub-Section (6) of Section 9-B of the said Act. The percentage is also provided in Rule-9 of the said Rules, which runs thus:

"9. Amount payable by lessees of minerals to the Trust:– (1) All holders of major minerals leases shall, in addition to royalty, pay to the respective District Mineral Foundation, an amount equivalent to such percentage of royalty as may be prescribed by the Central Government under sub-section (5) or, as the case may be, sub-section (6) of section 9B of the Act.

(2) All holders of the minor mineral leases shall, in addition to the royalty, pay to the respective Trust amount equivalent to –

(a) an amount equal to thirty percentum of the royalty, if the lease has not been granted through auction (b) Ten percentum of the royalty, if the lease has been granted through auction (3) The amount under sub-rule (1) and (2) shall become payable and be paid on the same day on which such royalty was payable to the Government."

4. Even apart, Rule 27 of the Odisha Minor Mineral Concession Rules, 2016 encompasses not only the modalities and the procedures to be adhered to in granting the mining leases to the respective mining lease holders but also an obligation to pay 1/4^th of the total amount of royalty and additional charges as well as the amount of contribution payable to the DMF on Annual Minimum Guaranteed Quantity and also to deposit the cost of obtaining a mining plan and the environmental clearance approval before the execution of the lease deed.

5. The conjoint reading of the aforesaid provisions leads to an inescapable inference that apart from the royalty, the additional charges as well as the contribution towards the DMF in addition to other charges are to be paid. The introduction of Section 9-B in the parent Act conveys an avowed intention of the legislature to provide the benefit to the persons, who would be affected by the mining activities or operations and such beneficial piece of the legislation has to be construed in the perspective of the benefits intended to be given to the inhabitants of the locality.

6. The canon