India, May 27 -- The Supreme Court on Tuesday directed the Governments of Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh and Uttar Pradesh to take immediate and effective steps, including initiating the recruitment process to fill vacant posts of forest guards, to curb rampant illegal sand mining in the National Chambal Gharial Sanctuary.

The top court directed these states to ensure the establishment and operationalisation of surveillance and monitoring infrastructure in affected regions, and also called for coordinated enforcement action against vehicles and machinery involved in these activities and the owners and contractors linked to them.

A bench of Justices Vikram Nath and Sandeep Mehta took note of a recent media report relating to instances of unre...