Jaipur: Supreme Court Tuesday directed Central Empowered Committee (CEC) to submit a report on sand mining from riverbeds, observing that such activity has a “disastrous effect” on river ecosystem and cannot be allowed to continue unchecked. CEC, which became a statutory body in 2023, was originally constituted in 2002 pursuant to an apex court order.The court also directed Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to file compliance affidavits within two weeks on earlier directions aimed at strengthening environmental and statutory safeguards in and around National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary.The sanctuary spans across the three states, covering around 5,400 sq km, and serves as a protected riverine ecosystem and habitat for endangered species including gharial, red-crowned roof turtle and Ganga river dolphin.A bench of Justice Vikram Nath, Justice Augustine George Masih and Justice Sandeep Mehta was hearing a suo motu matter concerning illegal sand mining and the threat to endangered aquatic wildlife in the sanctuary.“Let us focus on sand mining from the riverbeds because this concerns us. Sand mining from riverbeds has a disastrous effect. The river flow gets affected and the worst effect is on the river ecosystem,” the bench observed, stating it wanted a focused assessment from CEC on riverbed sand mining.Senior advocate Nikhil Goel, appearing as amicus curiae, suggested expanding the scope of the proceedings to specifically examine illegal sand mining from riverbeds.The bench also took note of the situation in Rajasthan, including the recent murder of a forest ranger who was run over by a dumper truck while attempting to stop illegal mining. The court remarked that vehicles carrying illegally mined sand were moving rampantly in the state, adding, “We will not let the rivers of the state be destroyed like this. This is absolutely not done. This is a sad state of affairs.”Additional advocate general Shiv Mangal Sharma, appearing for Rajasthan govt, said the matter has been posted for Nov 4 and CEC has been asked to submit its report before the next hearing.– Sand mining from riverbeds has “disastrous effect” on river ecosystem, cannot continue unchecked– Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to file compliance affidavits within 2 weeks on earlier sanctuary protection directions
