Order of the National Green Tribunal in the matter of Gagneshwar Singh Vs Ministry of Environment and Forest & Others dated 12/02/2020 regarding the auction of sand/gravel mining in violation of 'Sustainable Sand Mining Management Policy 2016' (SSMMP) issued by the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change (MoEF&CC) and directions of the High Court and the Tribunal.

It was alleged in the application that the Punjab Government has decided to grant mining lease on block wise basis without preparing any district survey report against the SSMMP. Report submitted by a joint committee MoEF&CC, State Environment Impact Assessment Authority (SEIAA), Punjab and the State Pollution Control Board (SPCB) stated that "in several cases leases have been given without following the statutory procedure".

The Department of Mines & Geology in its report of February 6, 2020 informed the Tribunal that action was taken against illegal mining and that leases granted are subject to environmental clearance. Further, the District Survey Report has been upgraded and Sustainable Mining Management Guidelines 2016 has been complied with.