The Supreme Court on Thursday came down heavily on the State of Rajasthan over illegal sand mining inside the National Chambal Sanctuary.
The Court directed the Additional Chief Secretary (Home), Principal Secretaries of Mining, Finance, Forest, Environment, Transport & Road Safety departments to remain personally present before the Court on May 19.
The Bench of Justice Vikram Nath and Justice Sandeep Mehta also sought individual compliance affidavits detailing steps taken to implement earlier directions and timelines for tackling rampant illegal mining threatening endangered species including gharials.
The order was passed in a suo motu case initiated by it on illegal sand mining across Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh.
The Court had earlier pulled up various State authorities for “lying with their eyes closed” even as large-scale sand mining continued in the Chambal region.
In its order passed on Thursday, the Court also directed Rajasthan Transport & Road Safety Department to explain how unregistered mining vehicles were operating in the region and whether any action has been taken against erring officials.
The Court flagged concerns over unidentified tractors and vehicles allegedly operating freely in mining zones and sought details of preventive measures to stop illegal transport of mined materials.
Pertinently, the Court also impleaded the National Highways Authority of India (NHAI) as a party to the case and asked it to file a detailed affidavit on protection of bridge structures near illegal mining zones and why CCTV surveillance cameras should not be installed for real-time monitoring of mining and transport activities