New Delhi, March 13 The Supreme Court on Friday took suo motu cognizance of illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Sanctuary and threats to endangered aquatic wildlife.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said the court has taken cognizance of recent newspaper reports highlighting rampant illegal mining in areas where the endangered gharial (long-snouted crocodile) preservation programme is underway.
Due to the illegal mining, the endangered gharials have been forced to relocate, the court said.
The bench said that even areas where the Madhya Pradesh chief minister had released gharials have come under illegal mining.
"Refer the matter to the Chief Justice of India for necessary directions," the top court ordered the registry.
According to reports, Madhya Pradesh Chief Minister Mohan Yadav released 10 gharials into the Chambal river at the sanctuary in Morena in February last year.
The National Chambal Sanctuary, also known as the National Chambal Gharial Wildlife Sanctuary, is a 5,400 sq km tri-state protected area. Besides the endangered gharial, it is home to the red-crowned roof turtle and the endangered Ganges river dolphin.
Located on the Chambal river near the tripoint of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, and Uttar Pradesh, the sanctuary was first declared a protected area in Madhya Pradesh in 1978 and now constitutes a long, narrow eco-reserve co-administered by the three states.