Overview
- The Supreme Court stayed on Thursday Rajasthan’s order that removed 732 hectares from protection inside the National Chambal Sanctuary.
- The bench took over a related National Green Tribunal case and gave Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh and the Environment Ministry four weeks to file replies, with the next hearing on May 11.
- Justice Sandeep Mehta called the illegal sand-mining groups “modern dacoits” and blamed weak enforcement, noting killings of SDMs, police and forest officers in Rajasthan.
- The court discussed videos that showed earth-movers hauling sand near police outposts as animals moved nearby, and the amicus said at least 1,000 sand trucks operate each day.
- The sanctuary is a tri-state river habitat for critically endangered gharials, river dolphins and rare turtles, which the court said face severe risk from torn-up riverbanks and lost nesting sites.