Jharkhand MLA Demands DMFT Fund Area Expansion; LoP Alleges Misuse

• Congress MLA Pradip Yadav urged the Jharkhand government to expand the utilisation area for District Mineral Foundation Trust (DMFT) funds.
• Yadav highlighted that current restrictions to 15km and 25km radii create an imbalance, leaving many areas underserved, especially in forest regions.
• State Minister Yogendra Prasad stated that DMFT rules were framed under Central guidelines (2024) and the state will write to the Centre regarding expansion.
• JMM and RJD MLAs supported the demand for relaxing area limitations, while Leader of Opposition Babulal Marandi defended the existing limits.
• Marandi alleged under-utilisation and misuse of DMFT funds within the current demarcated zones, urging a probe into irregularities, which the minister assured.