NEW DELHI, April 17 -- The Supreme Court on Friday said the statutory framework is well-armed to deal with mining mafias, but apparently, the administrative authorities are "dragging their feet" for reasons which are not difficult to discern.
While issuing a slew of directions to deal with rampant illegal sand mining activities in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary, the apex court said issues arising in the matter transcend mere questions of regulatory compliance and strike at the very heart of environmental governance.
A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta said directions issued by it were in furtherance of the court's constitutional obligation to uphold the rule of law and to ensure effective protection of the environmen...