THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE P.S.NARAYANA W.P.No.28228 of 2007 Date : 18-2-2008 Between : Sarukolla Balanna s/o. Obaiah and others .. Petitioners and Government of A.P., Represented by Superintending Engineer, Telugu Ganga Project, Mamillapalli village and Post, Kadapa District and others .. Respondents THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE P.S.NARAYANA W.P.No.28228 of 2007 ORDER: 1. On 8-1-2008, this Court made the following order : “The matter is directed to be listed after first vacation court in view of the urgency. The learned Govt. Pleader seeks further time. The matter is posted to 18.01.2008. Until then, there shall not be any formation feeder channels of Telugu Ganga Project”. Subsequent thereto, an application was filed to extend the interim order and the same was extended twice for limited periods. 2. Counter affidavit is filed by the 2nd respondent. 3. It is brought to the notice of this Court that the Executive Engineer, Telugu Ganga Project Division, Porumamilla village and Mandal, Kadapa District, is the competent authority to take appropriate decision in this regard and hence the learned Counsel for the writ petitioner is permitted to implead the said officer as 4th respondent and accordingly the 4th respondent had been impleaded. 4. The Writ Petition is filed for a Writ of Mandamus declaring the action of the respondents in deviating the course of channel of Telugu Ganga Project which is passing through the fields from branch channel in Sy.Nos.1103/1, 1104, 1105 and 1106 of Chinthakunta village, Duvvur Mandal, Kadapa District seeking to lay the said channel in different survey numbers contrary to the approved plan in the sketch as illegal, arbitrary and violative of Articles 14 and 21 of the Constitution of India and consequently to direct the respondents to lay the feeder channel of the Telugu Ganga Project as per the approved sketch and plan and to pass such other suitable orders. 5. It is stated in the affidavit filed in support of the Writ Petition that the Telugu Ganga Project passes through three Districts viz., Kadapa, Nellore and Chittoor Districts. Krishna river water is taken to Chennai city for the purpose of drinking and the said water is also utilized for agricultural purposes in the aforesaid three Districts of Andhra Pradesh. The feeder channels being provided as per the approved sketch and plan for providing water to irrigate the lands situate in the Chintakunta village of Duvvur Mandal, Kadapa District. The said channel which is originally planned is passing through the lands situate in Sy.Nos.1103/1, 1104, 1105 and 1106 of the said village. Since ayacutdars of the said irrigation source are having the lands in the said survey numbers, the petitioners were to get the irrigation source from the channel and it is the only source of water to irrigate our lands. It is further stated that while so some local elements who have political clout had influenced the respondents and the respondents are trying to deviate from laying the feeder channels contrary to the approved sketch. It is also further stated that in Kadapa District the water passes through several villages including our village of Duvvur Mandal. The Engineers of the Telugu Ganga Project had already approved a sketch depicting the passage of water through the planned and approved sketch of the feeder channels connecting the main branch under Telugu Ganga Project. The said approved sketch had been prepared by the authority concerned for the purpose of catering the water source of irrigation. The land acquisition proceedings were also initiated for acquiring of the lands through which the channel passes through and the compensation had been also paid to the land owners. While so, the present action of the respondents in deviating the channel from the original sketch is actuated by the persons who have very strong political affliction with ruling party resulting in deprivation of our resource of water for irrigating the lands of the petitioners. If the channel is deviated from the original plan, the lands of the petitioners would go dry and will become unfit for irrigation. It is further stated that the petitioners are depending on the source of irrigation from the water source of the said channel and there is no other possibility of the water being utilized to irrigate their lands. It is also further stated that though having been informed of the deviation of the original channel and despite submitting a written representation dated 10-11-2007 and subsequently served with a legal notice dated 19-11- 2007, the respondents are not responding to the said representation and acting detrimental to the interests of the petitioners and hence the present Writ Petition had been filed by the writ petitioners. 6. Section 3 of the A.P. Irrigation (Construction and Maintenance of Water Courses Act, 1965, dealing w i t h Obligation of ayacutdars to construct water courses reads as hereunder : “The owners of all lands within each distinct block of such extent not exceeding one hundred acres as may be prescribed, in the ayacut of an irrigation work shall be liable to construct and maintain at their own cost, water-courses required for the supply of water to their lands from the distributaries of the irrigation work for irrigation purposes and for the discharge of waste or surplus water from those lands in accordance with such directions as may be issued by the Irrigation Officer”. 7. In the counter affidavit filed on behalf of the 2nd respondent which in fact had been sworn to by the Executive Engineer, T.G.P. Division, Porumamilla, Kadapa District, which had been directed to be brought on record showing him as the 4th respondent, it is averred that the Telugu Ganga Canal passes through Kadapa, Nellore and Chittoor Districts to provide drinking water to Chennai City and the said water is also utilized for agricultural purpose through canal system in the aforesaid three Districts. It is also a fact that the Department had prepared a plan for providing water to irrigate the lands situate in Chintakunta village of Duvvur Mandal, Kadapa District showing the field channels passing through Sy.Nos.1103, 1104, 1105 and 1106 of the said village under Chalk Regulator Unit (CRU) 13 of Ramapuram distributory and the petitioners are having lands to be fed from the same field channel. It is also further averred that it is not correct that the respondents are trying to deviate laying the field channel water course contrary to the approved sketch, as the Department will not excavate any field channels. The Department excavates the main canal and distributories containing Minors and Sub-Minors. Major distributories will offtake from main channel and Minor distributories will offtake from majors. Offtakes will be provided from Minors and Sub-Minors to feed an ayacut of about 50 to 100 acres called one chalk under each offtake. The channels from the offtakes to feed the lands are called field channels and the same are to be excavated by the ayacutdars themselves. It is also further averred that as per para 390 of APW’D" Code and as Section 3 of A.P. Irrigation (Construction and maintenance of Water Courses) Act, 1965, the ryots of all the lands within each District block of such extent not exceeding 100 acres as prescribed in the A.P. Irrigation (Construction and Maintenance of Water Courses) Act, 1965, or any other extent as may be revised from time to time in the ayacut or any irrigation work shall be liable to construct for themselves subject to such conditions as may be prescribed and maintain at their own cost, water courses required for the supply of water to their lands from the distributories of irrigation work for irrigation purposes and for the discharge of water or surplus water from those lands in accordance with such directions as may be issued by the irrigation officers. The said approved sketch is the command plan under Chalk Regulator Unit (CRU) 13 of Ramapuram distributory which is an indicative plan for the guidance of the ayacutdars to excavate the field channels. The field channels are to be excavated along the boundaries of the lands on a mutually agreed alignment so as to feed the entire land in the chalk. It is also further averred that the ayacutdars are under obligation to excavate the field channels and hence the contention of deviation by the Department from the original sketch is false. It is for the ayacutdars to come to a mutual understanding for the excavation of the field channels as per the approved sketch or alternatively without adversely affecting the commandability of any piece of land under the Chalk Regulator Unit. It is also further averred that a reply had already been furnished to the said legal notice dated 19-11-2007 in letter No.EE/TGP/Dn/PML/JTO.2/A-5(B)/858 M, dated 10-12- 2007 enlightening the said facts. The alignment of the field channels will be shown to the ayacutdars if they come up for excavation of the field channels on a mutually agreed alignment. 8. The main grievance of the writ petitioners is that for certain political reasons, the approved plan in the sketch is being deviated. These factual controversies cannot effectively be gone into by a writ Court. In the light of the specific stand taken in the counter affidavit, the writ petitioners are permitted to make a representation in detail to the 4th respondent and let the 4th respondent consider the grievances to be ventilated by the writ petitioners and take appropriate decision in this regard. 9. With the above observations, the Writ Petition is disposed of. No costs. _________________ Justice P.S.Narayana Date : 18-2-2008 AM