New Delhi: The Supreme Court has expressed concern over the powerful sand mafia operating in the country and said states have effectively abdicated their constitutional responsibility to deal with the menace. Supreme Court says preventive detention can be imposed on mafias. A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta on Friday issued a slew of directions to the MPs, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan, including installing high-resolution, Wi-Fi enabled CCTV cameras on all routes frequently used for illegal sand mining and monitoring the footage round-the-clock. Besides seizing vehicles and noting the states’ reluctance to take action against the sand mining mafia, the court said it would be forced to deploy paramilitary forces in these areas and would force a full-scale military operation. Sand mining is prohibited in these states. “It is indeed a matter of serious and grave concern that state authorities entrusted with the solemn duty of enforcing the rule of law and protecting public resources appear to have abdicated, if not completely abdicated, their statutory and constitutional responsibilities. Taken as a whole, this situation may even be inferred as tacit consent.” While this issue has been highlighted repeatedly in various forums, the material before us reveals a disturbing pattern of inaction and administrative apathy. “Given the scale and gravity of the issues involved in this case and the apparently lackadaisical approach adopted by the state concerned, this court cannot continue to remain a silent bystander,” the judge said. “ “The negative response of states in the National Green Tribunal proceedings raises real concerns about the true intentions of state governments to act as protectors of the environment. The legal framework is adequate to deal with the mining mafia, but the administration is clearly dragging its feet and it’s not hard to see why. We believe that in such a serious situation, the state governments concerned are advised to invoke the provisions regarding preventive detention, seizure and confiscation of immovable property and machinery and conduct effective and stringent prosecution to bring the offenders to justice and ensure the protection of the environment. ” The court noted that there were cases of state government officials being killed by the sand mafia, which reflected a systemic and institutional failure to fulfill the state’s legal obligations. “Such apathy, especially in the face of escalating environmental degradation and threats to human life, is untenable and completely unacceptable in a constitutional democracy governed by the rule of law,” the report said.
