ORDER:

Questioning the inaction of the respondents 2 to 5 in taking action against the illegal cultivation of prawn culture by the respondents 6 & 7 by illegally converting the double crop zerioty wet lands in an extent of about Ac.3.70 cents and Ac.0.43 cents in R.S.No.154, 154A, 155 & 155A of Mogalamurru (V) of Allavaram Mandal inspite of several complaints of the petitioners and contrary to the G.O.Ms.No.7 dated 16.03.2013, without obtaining any permissions in accordance with law and causing damage to the valuable paddy lands of the petitioners and other surrounding farmers as illegal and arbitrary, and for a consequential direction to the respondents 2 to 5 not to allow the respondents 6 & 7 and their men from carrying out illegal prawn culture in the above extent, the present writ petition is filed.

Heard learned counsel for the petitioners, learned Assistant Government Pleaders for Fisheries, Revenue appearing for the official respondents and Sri Bokka Satyanarayana, learned counsel appearing for the unofficial respondents.

The case of the petitioners is that the 1st petitioner is looking after the cultivation affairs of the lands owned and possessed by his wife the 2nd petitioner i.e., Ac.5.50 cents in R.S.No.154-A1-1, 154-A1-2, 154-A2 and 154-A3-2 of Mogalamurru (V), Allavaram Mandal, East Godavari District. The said lands are fertile doubt crop lands useful for raising commercial crops. The respondents 6 & 7 own and possess land of an extent of Ac.3.70 cents & Ac.0.43 cents in R.S.No.154, 154A, 155 & 155A in Mogalamurru (V) of Allavaram Mandal. The said lands are adjacent to the petitioners’ land and are also fertile lands. All of a sudden, respondents 6 & 7 converted their lands into tanks. The petitioners objected for the same as conversion of cultivable lands into tanks cause damage to the adjacent lands of the petitioners. However, the 7th respondent shown some certificates as if they are permissions issued by the revenue and fisheries department authorities. The petitioners complained to the respondents 2 & 5 on 06.11.2018. The 2nd respondent having received the complaint directed the respondents 3 to 5 to look into the issue and take necessary action. The petitioners submitted another complaint on 09.09.2021 to the respondents 3 & 5. But till date the said authorities have not taken any action as against the illegal prawn/aqua cultivation by the respondents 6 & 7. Hence, the present writ petition is filed.

The 5th respondent filed counter grievance of the petitioners is that Questioning the inaction of the respondents 1 to 4 in considering the petitioners’ objections dated 28.06.2021 against the grant of license to the 5th respondent, for life time, for the aquaculture farm in land of an extent of Ac.3.93 cents in Sy.Nos.60-1 and 6-2 of Mallipudi village, Penumantra Mandal, West Godavari District as illegal and arbitrary and for a consequential direction to the respondents to consider the petitioners’ objections, the present writ petition is filed.

Heard learned counsel for the petitioners, learned Assistant Government Pleader for Fisheries appearing for respondents 1 to 4 and learned counsel appearing for the 5th respondent.

The case of the petitioners is that they were allotted house site pattas under Navaratnalu-pedalandariki illu programme. They are residents of Indiramma Phase-I in R.S.No.57, 58 of Mallipudi Village, Penumantra Mandal, West Godavari District. The petitioners’ houses were assessed to tax and they are accordingly paying house tax to Mallipudi Gram Panchayat. While things stood thus, the 5th respondent, who is the owner of adjacent land of an extent of Ac.3.93 cents in RS.No.60-1 and 60-2, started digging the land on the Eastern side of petitioners’

houses to convert the land into aquaculture farm. On the objections raised by the petitioners, the Tahsildar and revenue officials stopped the conversion of land by the 5th respondent. The 5th respondent proclaimed that he got license from the responden