SC warns Rajasthan, M.P., U.P. over illegal mining in Chambal sanctuary

18 APRIL 2026

The Supreme Court said it would not hesitate to take the extraordinary step of deploying paramilitary forces to curb illegal sand mining in the ecologically fragile and protected National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary if the States of Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh fail to take “concrete measures” to tackle the menace within a month.
The warning was part of a 28-page order passed by a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, which took suo motu cognisance of illegal sand mining within the sanctuary, resulting in severe degradation of critical wildlife habitats, including that of the endangered gharials.

Government apathy

Justice Mehta cautioned that the court would not only impose a complete ban on sand mining in the States but also impose “heavy penalties” on them for failing to safeguard critical habitats and the vital river ecosystem.
“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,” the court said.
The court said the States’ explanations about sand mining happening right under their very noses reeked of apathy, tacit connivance and even a sense of helplessness in the face of the “superior firepower” and acts of lawlessness of the miners.

Murders of forest guards

The order referred to brutal murders of forest guards by sand miners in Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan.
Harikesh Gurjar was crushed under a truck by sand miners while trying to halt an illegal mining operation in Morena district of Madhya Pradesh on April 8, 2026.
In January 2026, Jitendra Singh Shekhawat, another forest guard, this time in Dholpur district in Rajasthan, was killed using the same modus operandi while trying to stop miners’ vehicles from fleeing.

CCTV order

Issuing a series of directions, the court ordered Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, and Uttar Pradesh to install high-resolution and Wi-Fi enabled CCTV cameras in areas affected by sand mining and ensure that live visuals from these cameras are fed directly to the offices of the district police chiefs and divisional forest officers.
Madhya Pradesh and Rajasthan should initiate a pilot project to install GPS tracking devices on vehicles used for mining in Morena and Dholpur districts.