The Hon'ble Sri Justice C.V.Nagarjuna Reddy Writ Petition Nos.5009 & 32112 of 2010 and 26715 of 2011 Date: 10.10.2011 Common Order: These three Writ Petitions viz., W.P.Nos.5009 & 32112 of 2010 and 26715 of 2011 are filed by the petitioners, who are common, with the grievance that, even though they are bona fide fishermen and living within the peripheral area of 10 kilometers (for short ‘kms’) from Somasila Project, they are being denied fishing licenses for the years 2009-2010, 2010-2011 and 2011-2012 respectively, mainly on the ground that they do not hold ration cards. On the strength of the interim directions of this Court, the fishing licenses were granted for the years 2009-2010 and 2010-2011 and the said periods have expired. With regard to W.P.No.26715 of 2011, in Paragraph 3 of the counter-affidavit, dated 18-03-2010, filed in WP.No.5009 of 2010, by respondent No.2- Assistant Director of Fisheries, Kadapa District, it is admitted that the petitioners are fishermen by profession and residing at Chintakayalapalli, Venkata Rajampet, Gudiselu Villages of Nandalur Mandal, and that their main profession is fishing in Somasila backwaters within Kadapa District for their livelihood. Respondent No.2 further stated that the State Government issued G.O.Ms.No.186, Animal Husbandry & Fisheries (Fish-II) Department, dated 25-11-1995, wherein the rules for grant of licenses to professional local fishermen, by collecting the license fee as per G.O.Ms.No.776 Food and Agriculture (FISH.II) Department, dated 31-12-1990, are envisaged; that the forest department has raised an objection during the year 2009-2010 stating that the Somasila backwaters come under Sri Penunsila Narasimha wild life sanctuary area and that the fishermen shall not be permitted to exploit the fish in and around Somasila Project; that there was correspondence between respondent No.1- Commissioner of Fisheries and Principal Conservator of Forests (Wild Life), Forest Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh, Hyderabad, in this regard; that the Principal Chief Conservator of Forests, Head of Forest Force, Aranya Bhavan, Hyderabad, vide letter, dated 08-01-2009, addressed to the Special Chief Secretary to the Government, Energy, Forests, Science & Technology Department, Government of Andhra Pradesh, informed that he has directed the Divisional Forest Officers, Kadapa, Rajampet and Proddatur, to jointly identify, along with revenue department, the local fishermen, who were traditionally dependent on fishing, and permit them to do fishing; that accordingly, the joint committee has conducted an inspection, on 15-09- 2009, at Nandalur range to 184 fishermen and certified only 49 fishermen as being locals, who can be permitted to catch fish in Somasila backwaters and; that the remaining 135 fishermen were declared as non- locals. It is further stated that based on the joint inspection report, proceedings were issued on 23-02-2010, by the Forest Department, requesting the Fisheries Department to allow only 49 fishermen, who were found to be locals and having skill; that the joint committee has approved and recommended 84 other traditional fishermen belonging to Badvel Range and; that the Forest Range Officer, Badvel, has issued identity cards to them. Respondent No.2 admitted that licenses for carrying out fishing operations were issued to some of the petitioners, based on the residence certificates, which are normally issued to any person residing in that particular area for more than six months, and that though the higher authorities permitted to allow 300 families for fishing at Somasila backwaters, the two joint inspections found only 133 fishermen as locals and accordingly, licenses were granted to them. Sri N.Vasudeva Reddy, learned Counsel for the petitioners, stated that even though his clients may have migrated from other districts, they have been living in the villages situated within the periphery of 10 kms from the Somasila project since 1998, as evident from the residence certificates issued by the Village Revenue Officer concerned. The learned Assistant Government Pleader for Fisheries, representing respondent Nos.1 to 3, submitted that, to be eligible for grant of fishing licenses, the persons should not only be bona fide fishermen but also the natives of villages situated within the periphery of 10 kms from the Somasila project. A perusal of the appendix to G.O.Ms.No.186, Animal Husbandry & Fisheries (Fish-II) Department, dated 25-11-1995, which contains the rules for grant of fishing licenses in the reservoirs and their channels as prescribed in Schedule F thereof, in which Somasila reservoir and its channels are also included, shows that bona fide fishermen living in the villages within 10 kms from the periphery of the reservoir are entitled to get the licenses. This GO does not lay down the condition that such fisherman should be either a local or the native of the village within 10 kms from the periphery of the reservoir. A fisherman will be eligible for grant of license, if he is able to show that he is living in the village within 10 kms from the periphery of the reservoir. As noted above, it is clearly admitted in the counter-affidavit that if a person lives in a village for six months, residence certificates will be issued to that effect. The respondents have not disputed the authenticity of the residence certificates, on which the petitioners have been placing reliance. In my opinion, by proving that they are residing in the villages, which are within the periphery of 10 kms from the reservoir, the petitioners have satisfied the criterion laid down in the above-mentioned GO viz., that the fishermen must be living in the villages within 10 kms from the periphery of the reservoir. The respondents have misdirected themselves in thinking that it is only the native fishermen, who are entitled to be granted licenses, and not those, who have come down from their original places and settled down in the local area. There is another relevant angle from which the claims of the petitioners need to be considered. It is not the pleaded case of the respondents that the petitioners, who have settled down in the area concerned leaving their native places, have become competitors to the local fishermen. As noticed above, it is the pleaded case of respondent No.2 that the higher authorities have permitted 300 fishermen families to be granted licenses whereas, so far, licenses were granted only to 133 fishermen families treating them as local fishermen. This shows that there is still potentiality for 167 fishermen families for being granted licenses. These undisputed facts would clearly prove that the petitioners are in no way competitors for the local fishermen. The petitioners are only 101 in number and they are found to be bona fide fishermen living for quite some time past within 10 kms from the periphery of the project area. In the face of these undisputed facts, I do not find any justification, whatsoever, to deny the petitioners the grant of fishing licenses only on the ground that they are not the local/native fishermen. The learned Assistant Government Pleader for Fisheries has raised an apprehension that the petitioners are likely to use motorboats for fishing. The learned Counsel for the petitioners, unequivocally, denied this submission and stated that there is no question of the petitioners using any motorboats. The counter-affidavit is silent on this aspect. Therefore, I do not find any reason to believe that the petitioners would use motorboats for the purpose of fishing. If any such eventuality arises, the respondents shall be free to take appropriate action in accordance with law. Subject to the above directions, Writ Petition No.26715 of 2011 is allowed. W.P.Nos.5009 and 32112 of 2010 are disposed of as infructuous as the periods for which they were filed have expired. As a sequel, WVMP.No.2217 of 2010 & WPMP.No.6448 of 2010 in WP.No.5009 of 2010 and WPMP.No.32981 of 2011 in WP.No.26715 of 2011 are disposed of. ______________________ (C.V.Nagarjuna Reddy, J) 10th October, 2011 LUR