Keonjhar District Administration Takes Action: 29 Employees Dismissed Amid DMF Fund Misuse Allegations

Termination of Employees in Keonjhar

In Keonjhar, the district administration has taken decisive action by terminating 29 employees who were receiving salaries funded by the District Mineral Foundation (DMF) scheme. This group consists of 22 junior project engineers (JPEs) and seven assistant project engineers (APEs), all of whom were assigned to various blocks within the district.

Following the directive from the District Collector, the Zilla Parishad office in Keonjhar issued a formal notice (no. 4308; dated July 18, 2025) to the outsourcing agency, mandating the cessation of these employees' services.

This decision comes in light of numerous allegations and ongoing legal disputes in the Orissa High Court concerning irregularities, misappropriation of funds, and the misuse of DMF grants in the region. Despite multiple complaints and the passage of several months, the state-level committee has yet to present its findings to the court, leading the petitioner to submit a second petition.

Reports suggest that substantial amounts from the DMF fund were improperly utilized by hiring personnel across different departments, contravening Section 11(A)(5) of the Odisha DMF Rules, 2015. Additionally, instead of directly disbursing salary grants to the outsourcing agency, funds were funneled through the Project Director or the Chief Development Officer (CDO) of the District Rural Development Agency (DRDA) in Keonjhar.

An order issued by the state Chief Secretary on September 10, 2019, clearly stated that wages for project-specific outsourced staff should be drawn from the project contingency fund. However, this directive was ignored, resulting in significant expenditures directly from the DMF fund.

The timeline for the termination of employees appointed in other departments remains unclear. Furthermore, while various departments received DMF funds for contingency purposes, many have not returned unspent funds or provided transparent account statements.

Concerns have been raised regarding unauthorized appointments across departments, inadequate income and expenditure records, and the lack of dedicated cashbooks for DMF-related activities. A serious allegation surfaced on May 20, 2025, claiming that several departments had opened multiple bank accounts under the DMF project title without proper authorization.

In response to these issues, the Union Ministry of Mines directed the State Planning and Convergence Department to send a letter (no-8569/18, dated June 20, 2025) to the Keonjhar Collector, requesting a comprehensive report.