Bhubaneswar: The National Human Rights Commission (NHRC) asked the Odisha chief secretary to submit a report regarding under-utilisation of district mineral foundation (DMF) fund in the state.The commission issued this direction on May 9 after hearing a petition filed by human rights activist Manoj Jena on April 26. The complainant drew the attention of the commission to the issue ofunder-utilisation of DMF fundsin Odisha.”Odisha has an accrual of Rs 30,562.87 crores of DMF funds by the end of January 2025, and only Rs 17,235 crore were spent. The remaining Rs 13,327 crore were unspent, leaving mining-affected areas lacking in basic services like healthcare and clean water,” said Jena in his petition. He alleged that there is a huge negligence in the spending of development funds. It is a serious violation of the right to development of the people in the mining area, he added.“The major contributor districts such as Keonjhar, Sundergada, Jharasuguda, Jajpur, Koraput, and Angul remain backward in terms of human development, access to healthcare, sanitation, safe drinking water, basic amenities, condition of women and children, employment and livelihood, and environmental conditions,” read the petition. Jena urged the authorities to use the funds properly, involve local communities, and ensure transparency.”In view of the above, the commission is of the considered view that the allegations levelled in the complaint are serious violations of the human rights of the victims. Accordingly, the registry is directed to send a copy of the complaint to the Odisha chief secretary to examine the matter and submit the report expeditiously within a period of 15 days,” read the NHRC order.