[4][5][8] In 1992, the Gujarat state government's department of mining and geology pointed out that there were huge deposits of limestone, lignite (brown coal), bentonite and bauxite inside the protected area of the sanctuary and argued that the ban on mining in the sanctuary was holding back development of the local economy.

Following the de-notification, the Gujarat state government planned to grant a lease to a cement company for open-cast mining in 2,000 hectares of land inside the original erstwhile Sanctuary to allow the mining of limestone, lignite and bauxite and for other industrial additives as it seemed an ideal location for a cement factory.

[4][5][8][9][10] Several environment groups in the country challenged the de-notification decision in the courts, claiming it to be illegal because it had not been approved by the Gujarat state legislative assembly.

The de-notification was challenged in the High Court of Gujarat and the Supreme Court of India resulting in a legal battle between the Government of Gujarat and the 'Environmental Activists' along with inputs (adverse impacts on the sanctuary by limestone mining within its vicinity) provided by the Centre for Environment Education (CEE), Ahmedabad which had initially brought the whole issue of de-notification to public light through its media campaign.

Environment groups contest that cement makers, eager for new sources of limestone, have been the main driving force behind the Gujarat state government's actions.

[9] Some miners had moved inside the boundaries of the sanctuary even before the 1993 decree that had initially abolished it escalating the mining and quarrying.

[9] The sanctuary is delimited by the Kori creek on the northwest and mangrove forest on the west, while prominent land features form its northern and southern limits.

[5][11] Geological formations in the sanctuary area primarily consist of basaltic rocks on the eastern part, tertiary formation in the central part comprising numimulistic limestone and shale bordering the basaltic rocks in south and up to Lakhpat, recent alluvium in a belt of 5–15 kilometres (3.1–9.3 mi) along the coast and scattered coastal sand dunes are on the western boundary.

The area is rich in minerals such as limestone in 49 square kilometres (19 sq mi) belt (assessed as 1270 million tonnes) extends from the south Saran Nani village to Lakhpat, lignite in a belt of 32.5 square kilometres (12.5 sq mi) (15 million tonnes) and bentonite; lignite and bentonite are being mined close to Panandhro and Saran villages, while the mining of limestone is yet to begin.

However, vegetation in the central area of the sanctuary is good in view of black loamy soil found here, which is fertile and has better moisture retaining capacity.

[4][6] The avifauna study of the sanctuary was specifically undertaken at the initiative of the Gujarat Institute of Desert Ecology, in 1997–98 to evolve a 'Management Plan' that conserves the bird species.

[11] The birds sighted less frequently, called the 'specialists' were ortolan bunting, desert warbler, pied tit, white-browed fantail, lesser spotted eagle, sirkeer malkoha, Eurasian wryneck and yellow-crowned woodpecker.

[3][15][16] Asiatic cheetah (Acinonyx jubatus venaticus) that used to occur here are now locally extinct in India and elsewhere, except a very small critically endangered and fragmented population of last few, estimated to be below 100, thought to be surviving only in the central desert of Iran.

Thus cheetah experts from around the world have advised India to import and introduce the cheetah from Africa as genetically it is identical to the ones found in Asia, as latest genetic studies have revealed that the Asian population had separated from the African relatively recently only 5000 years ago which is not enough for a subspecies level differentiation.

The invasive species Prosopis juliflora is noted to be spreading in the sanctuary resulting in decrease of grassy and herbaceous patches.

The invasive vegetation of Prosopis chilensis is reported in an area of 12.39 square kilometres (4.78 sq mi) in the sanctuary.

The conservation measures suggested include preservation of wetland, particularly the water bodies in the sanctuary to retain and attract migratory birds, availability and creation of hole-nester by prevention of clearance of dead trees, and attention to globally or nationally threatened species by protecting their habitats; the two species specifically referred are the pied tit (white-napped tit) considered endemic to India and the MacQueen's bustard (houbara bustard); in this context, the yellow-crowned woodpecker is also mentioned, as their numbers are reported to be small.