The Supreme Court on Friday ordered strict vigil, strict prosecution and accountability of officials to curb illegal sand mining in the Chambal Gharial National Park that stretches across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
In a suo motu case, the court criticized the “low-level response” by states, warning that continued inaction could call for extraordinary measures, including the deployment of paramilitary forces and a complete ban on sand mining.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said the state governments’ failure was “clear on the face of it” and could even indicate “tacit collusion”. It pointed to a “worrying pattern of administrative inaction and indifference.”
The court ordered the installation of high-resolution, Wi-Fi-enabled CCTV cameras across vulnerable stretches and roads used by mining operators. As a pilot, GPS tracking will be installed in all mining vehicles and equipment in Morena (MP) and Dholpur (Rajasthan).
States were also asked to deploy specialized round-the-clock patrol teams equipped with modern weapons and communications equipment in high-risk areas, given the advanced weapons used by illegal miners.
The court described environmental protection as a “constitutional necessity” and said that uncontrolled exploitation of fragile ecosystems for short-term gain “cannot be condoned.” The Chambal Sanctuary is home to gharials, Ganges dolphins and other aquatic species.
Reports by the Central Empowerment Commission (CEC) and court-appointed amicus curiae have underscored the brazen scale of illegal mining, including incidents of killings of forest guards by mining mafia. The court called the states’ claim of being outgunned by armed miners “alarming” and indicative of a “shocking lack of preparedness.”
He urged governments to operationalize provisions on preventive detention, seizure and confiscation of assets and continue vigorous prosecution to tackle regulated illegal mining.
Justice Mehta, who wrote the judgment, said: “All concerned authorities must act with a sense of responsibility, urgency and commitment, to ensure that the balance between development and environmental conservation is maintained beneficially for present and future generations.”
After publishing the order on May 11, the court directed the states of MP, UP and Rajasthan to come up with concrete and effective measures and said, “This court will be limited to invoking its extraordinary jurisdiction to deploy paramilitary forces or CRPF; directing a complete ban on sand mining in the states of Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan; and imposing severe penalties on the said states.”
On March 13, the court took suo motu note of news reports about the Chambal Sanctuary and observed that Morena (MP) where the Prime Minister had released 10 gharials last year had also been affected by sand mining, according to reports. In 1978, the area along the Chambal River covering areas stretching across MP, Rajasthan and UP was designated as a wildlife sanctuary.
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The court ordered that the data generated by CCTV cameras and GPS tracking be made available to the police and district authorities forming part of the control room for continuous monitoring. Based on the success of the pilot initiative, the court said a decision will be taken on expanding GPS tracking to other areas covered by the Chambal Sanctuary.
The court directed that when any case of illegal sand mining is detected, the authorities should take prompt action and proceed under the law against the accused under relevant laws. The directives also stipulate the seizure of violating vehicles and pollution control plates to recover environmental compensation from violators.
The court held that “the officers concerned will bear personal responsibility and will be liable to take appropriate action, including initiating contempt proceedings for any dereliction of duty, negligence, inaction or failure to comply with the directions of this court.”
The CEC in its report submitted to the court said that while UP and MP had notified the Ecologically Sensitive Zones (ESZ) around the reserve falling under their area, Rajasthan had neither notified the ESZ nor declared the area of the reserve under ‘forest’ making it open for large-scale mining. He believed that establishing a strong coordination and communication mechanism between countries based on real-time information exchange and coordinated response is what we need now.
