Rampant illegal sand mining wreaked havoc in Chambal Gharial Sanctuary: Supreme Court

New Delhi: The Supreme Court on Friday said rampant illegal sand mining in riverbeds has created an environmental crisis and wreaked havoc in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary spanning across three states, causing a grave risk to the gharial preservation project.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta issued a slew of directions to deal with the alleged activities, emphasising the issues arising in the matter transcend mere questions of regulatory compliance and strike at the very heart of environmental governance.

"The statutory framework is well-armed to deal with the mining mafias but apparently the administrative authorities are dragging their feet, for reasons which are not difficult to discern,'' the bench said.

“It can't be gainsaid that the issues involved are of great concern in as much as the rampant illegal mining activities in the river bed have created an environmental crisis and havoc in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary causing a grave risk to the very project of gharial preservation of which the state governments themselves were proponents and were under an obligation to foster and promote,” the bench added.

The court also came down heavily upon the governments of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh for failing to check the illicit activity.

Among its directions, the court ordered the states to install high‑resolution, Wi‑Fi‑enabled CCTV cameras along all routes frequently used for illegal sand extraction.

The bench directed that the live feeds from these cameras be placed under the direct control, supervision and operational oversight of the district superintendent of police or senior superintendent of police and the divisional forest officer, to ensure real‑time monitoring and prompt enforcement action.

The bench said these officers would ensure continuous and effective monitoring of the CCTV feeds by designating appropriate officers.

The court made it clear that if any instance of illegal mining or allied activities comes to light, the concerned authorities in these three states must initiate prompt and necessary legal action.

The bench said lackadaisical response of the states in the proceedings before the National Green Tribunal gave rise to a genuine apprehension regarding the very intent of the states to act as the protectors of environment.

"We feel that under such grave circumstances, the state governments concerned would be well advised to invoke the provisions relating to preventive detention, seizure and confiscation of immovable properties and machinery, and to undertake effective and stringent prosecutions, so as to bring the offenders to book and ensure protection of the environment," the bench said.

The court said it expected the governments of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh to implement concrete and effective measures to tackle illegal mining activities, failing which it will be constrained to invoke its extraordinary jurisdiction for issuing appropriate directions.

In the directions issued under Article 142 of the Constitution, the bench ordered for the deployment of paramilitary forces or the Central Reserved Police Force; a complete ban on sand mining in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan; and imposing heavy penalties on the said States for failing to safeguard critical habitats and the river ecosystem vital for sustaining all forms of life.

The bench said the protection of natural resources and fragile ecosystems is not only a statutory obligation but a constitutional imperative. "The continued degradation of natural resources and fragile ecosystems for short-term gains and greed, coupled with administrative indifference, cannot be countenanced in a system governed by the rule of law," it said.

"The states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh shall, in close coordination with one another, formulate and implement a comprehensive, uniform, and time-bound Standard Operating Procedure (SOP) to effectively deal with incidents involving illegal sand mining, particularly those involving organised, violent, or armed resistance by persons engaged in such activities," the bench said.

The court said Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh shall constitute dedicated and fully operational and well-equipped joint patrol teams in each district falling within or adjoining the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, comprising officials from the police and forest departments.

"The concerned authorities including the state pollution control boards of the states of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh shall initiate appropriate, time-bound proceedings for the assessment, imposition, and recovery of environmental compensation from all violators, strictly in accordance with the polluter pays principle, so as to ensure restitution as well as remediation of the ecological damage caused by illegal sand mining activities," the court said.

The bench directed Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh to place on record a detailed report by May 11, 2026 indicating the feasibility of establishing dedicated control rooms in each district falling within or adjoining the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, wherein the live CCTV feeds and data collected through surveillance mechanisms, including GPS tracking systems, may be centrally received, monitored, and analysed.