B. SUDERSHAN REDDY, J.

( 1 ) THE petitioner herein is the Agricultural Market Committee, Anantapur. It is aggrieved by the notice issued by the respondent-Municipality in Roc. No. 5922/97-A1 dated 6-2-1998 proposing to conduct open auction in respect of collection of fees in the daily vegetable market and shandy day and Friday in old town and daily vegetable market located in old bus-stand and right to collect fee on slaughter houses, apart from right to collect fee from the eighteen stalls situated in Mutton Market.

( 2 ) IT is stated in the affidavit filed in support of the writ petition that the Anantapur Agricultural Market Committee, Anantapur was constituted in the year 1968 under G. O. Ms. No. 2095 Food and Agriculture Department dated29-10-1968. The total extent of the market area is stated to be Ac. 20-30 cents. It is asserted that the petitioner Market Committee is empowered to regulate the Fruit and Vegetable Market within the notified area of Anantapur Market Committee, Anantapur, wherein all the facilities are provided in the market yard. The Committee is entitled to collect the market fee which is intended to be spent towards the services to be rendered and for the facilities to be provided to the farmers by the Market Committee.

( 3 ) THE petitioner-Committee with an intention to regulate the fruits and vegetable market, Anantapur from 1-4-1998, passed a resolution to this effect on 6-1-1998 expressing its intention to regulate the Trade of fruits and vegetables in the market yard. The Secretary of the Market Committee accordingly issued proceedings in Lr. NO. 1/b3/98 dated 17-1-1998 and informed the Commissioner of the respondent-Municipality with a request not to lease out the rights to collect the fee on fruits and vegetables with effect from 1-4-1998, The Commissioner of the respondent-Municipality without responding to the said proceedings issued auction notice on 6-2-1998 announcing that public auction would be conducted on 20-3-1998 for granting lease of the right to collect fee on fruits and vegetables for the year 1998-99. It is that notice which is impugned in this writ petition.

( 4 ) IT is the case of the petitioner-Market Committee that the A. P. (Agricultural Produce and Livestock) Markets Act 1966 (for short the Act ) itself, is brought into existence to regulate the purchase and sale of agricultural produce and livestock products and the Market Committee constituted under the Act is entrusted with the duty to provide necessary infrastructure and collect the fee on the sale and purchase of any agricultural produce and live-stock within the notified area. The Market Committee is established within the notified area and the notified area covers and includes the markets within the Municipality.

( 5 ) AFTER the establishment of the Market and constitution of the Market Committee, the respondent-Municipality has no authority in law to collect any fee whatsoever from the dealers or the purchasers, as the case may be, in respect of fruits and vegetables, though the markets are situated within the Municipality. The petitioner-Market Committee has got exclusive jurisdiction and authority to regulate the trade and conduct of the fruits and vegetable market in the premises of the market yard Anatapur and the respondent-Municipality has no authority in law whatsoever to interfere in the matter after the notification was issued by the Government vide G. O. Ms. No. 2095, dated 29-10-1968 notifying the market area.

( 6 ) OBJECTIONS were invited by the Stale Government before issuing the notification in exercise of its power under Section 3 of the Act declaring the notified area of the Agricultural Market Committee and suggestions and objections received from the Municipalities were considered. Suggestions received from the Municipalities to exclude the markets located in the Municipality from the notified area were rejected. Under those circumstances, the Municipality has no authority in law to interfere in reg

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