The District Magistrate of East Khasi Hills has issued a sweeping order prohibiting illegal sand extraction from river beds and unauthorised mining on hill slopes across the district, effective immediately.

HML Kynta, District Magistrate, Shillong, issued the order on April 23, 2026, under Section 163 of the Bharatiya Nagarik Suraksha Sanhita (BNSS), citing escalating environmental damage caused by rampant sand removal along the Wahnianglen River near Mylliem.

The order comes in response to a directive from the National Green Tribunal's Principal Bench in New Delhi, which had already restrained "any person, company, authority to carry out any mining and quarrying activity or removal of sand from river beds anywhere in the country" without valid Mining Licences, Quarry Permits, and clearances under the Ministry of Environment, Forest and Climate Change's EIA Notification 2006.

Officials say the damage on the ground has been severe. Unregulated sand mining has triggered a continuous outflow of stone, sand and other minerals into local rivers, destroying slope vegetation, damaging water sources, killing aquatic life and rendering water unfit for drinking. Communities in surrounding and adjoining areas have already felt the impact on their water supply.

The magistrate has now directed that no person, company or authority may carry out mining, quarrying or sand removal in the district without first obtaining the requisite licences and clearance certificates from competent authorities.