Today, the Supreme Court seeks responses from Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, and Andhra Pradesh government within six weeks regarding a plea seeking an investigation into illegal sand mining cases and the termination of leases for involved entities.

A bench comprising Justice Sanjiv Khanna and Justice Sanjay Kumar stated that a fine of Rs 20,000 would be imposed if the states fail to file counter affidavits within the stipulated six weeks. Despite the fine not matching the severity of the alleged illegal sand mining, Justice Khanna noted it would compel the states to comply.

The bench scheduled the matter for November.

Advocate Prashant Bhushan, representing petitioner M Alagarsamy, highlighted that the petition dates back to 2018 and that the four states had not submitted affidavits on the status of illegal sand mining despite being notified. Bhushan, assisted by advocate Pranav Sachdeva, emphasized the ongoing extensive illegal sand mining, which is harming the environment. To date, only Punjab has responded.

Bhushan indicated that the petitioner had filed a brief note concerning Tamil Nadu, urging the state to address the claims.

Acknowledging the submission, the bench directed Tamil Nadu to respond to the assertions. On January 24, 2019, the Supreme Court had issued notices and instructed the Centre, CBI, and five states to respond to the plea.

The plea underscores the issue of illegal sand mining in rivers and beaches nationwide, alleging "environmental havoc" and the operation of entities without the necessary environmental plans and clearances.

The plea further claimed that due to the states' failure to enforce guidelines, numerous sand mining scams have occurred across the country, significantly impacting citizens' right to life by harming the environment and deteriorating law and order.

It called for directives ensuring no environmental clearance for any sand mining project without proper environmental impact assessment (EIA), environmental management plan (EMP), and public consultation in line with the EIA notification of 2006.

Citing various media reports on illegal sand mining, the plea urged that the Centre should not grant environmental clearances for sand mining projects without considering their cumulative impact on the entire area.

It also demanded the prosecution of those involved in illegal sand mining, termination of their leases, and a CBI investigation into the alleged scams.

The plea highlighted an earlier Supreme Court verdict, which mandated that leases of minor minerals for areas less than five hectares, as well as their renewals, must only be granted after obtaining environmental clearance