New Delhi, Jul 21 The National Green Tribunal (NGT) has directed all states and Union Territories to formulate a comprehensive regulatory framework to prevent commercial mining activities being carried out under the garb of removing sand deposits from private agricultural fields after the monsoon.
The green body, which was hearing a batch of applications regarding the issue, also suggested the use of advanced technological tools, including satellite imagery and artificial intelligence (AI), to monitor sand deposition and extraction.
In an order dated July 17, made available on Tuesday, a bench of NGT Chairperson Justice Prakash Shrivastava and expert member Afroz Ahmad noted that the Supreme Court in 2024 directed the tribunal to examine the government notifications and norms enabling removal of sand deposits from agricultural fields.
It noted that the apex court had expressed concern about environmental damage caused by topsoil erosion and illegal mining resulting from the misuse of these provisions.
The bench said that to ensure effective regulation, the green panel had earlier passed some directions, and the Union Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) had in May 2026 submitted an affidavit that it had prepared a framework after consulting all states and UTs.
The bench noted that in the affidavit, the ministry mentioned that an Expert Appraisal Committee (EAC) in 2026 had underlined that a uniform approach was not feasible given the diversity in geographical and topographical conditions across states and UTs.
It said that the EAC, however, made several recommendations, including preservation of natural land profile or prohibition of excavation or mining below the natural ground level, quantification of sand deposition, preventive measures against illegal mining, scientific assessment and monitoring mechanisms, implementation of real-time surveillance and notifying a fixed window for removal.
"For the effective management and removal of sand deposit from the agricultural fields after the monsoon and for ensuring that in the name of such removal no illegal mining takes place, the states and UTs are required to have the regulatory mechanism within the framework which has been provided by the EAC after consideration and deliberations with the states, UTs and other regulatory agencies," the tribunal said.
It directed all states and UTs to take appropriate action to frame the regulations within the framework provided by the MoEF&CC.
The tribunal said that to control illegal sand mining under the guise of removing sand from agricultural fields, it is necessary to use the latest scientific and technological tools.
It said, "The satellite imagery of pre and post-monsoon can be used and analysed with appropriate software or AI tool to find out the availability of sand deposits in the agricultural fields, and possibility should also be explored if an estimation of the quantity of such sand deposit can be done and after extraction, the estimated extracted quantity can be ascertained."
The tribunal further directed the MoEF&CC to "explore options" with the Indian Space Research Organisation (ISRO) for this purpose and file a report.
The NGT has impleaded all states and UTs in the matter and directed them to file their responses along with the formulated frameworks.
The matter has been listed for further proceedings on September 22.
