Supreme Court Directs Five States to Provide Facts on Illegal Sand-Mining

• The Supreme Court has directed five states to provide facts and figures on the extent of illegal sand-mining.

• Chief Justice Sanjiv Khanna emphasized the need for control over sand-mining.

• The court was hearing a petition filed by M. Alagarsamy, representing advocate Prashant Bhushan, seeking an investigation into rampant illegal mining of beach and river sand.

• The petition alleged severe ecological imbalance, disturbance in the water table, and land degradation across Tamil Nadu, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh, Punjab, and Madhya Pradesh.

• The court directed the states to prepare for the next hearing with the facts and figures on sand-mining.

• The petition also referred to media reports of illegal mining of one crore tonnes of beach sand from Tirunelveli, Tamilukudi, and Kanyakumari districts in Tamil Nadu.