Rein in Chambal sand mining or face paramilitary deployment, SC tells M.P., U.P., Rajasthan

The Supreme Court of India on Friday (April 17, 2026) 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, by the next date of hearing on May 11.

The warning to the three States was part of a 28-page order passed by a Bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta, which took suo motu cognisance of rampant illegal sand mining within the sanctuary, resulting in severe degradation of critical wildlife habitats, including that of the endangered gharials.