THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE RAMESH RANGANATHAN WRIT PETITION No.25519 OF 2011 ORDER: This Writ Petition is filed questioning the action of the second respondent, in interfering with the running of the bore-well of the petitioner situated in Survey No.394-2A of P. Yeluru of Atmakur Mandal of Anantapur District for agricultural purposes, as arbitrary and illegal. It is the petitioner’s case, in the affidavit filed in support of the Writ Petition, that he had sunk a bore-well in the land assigned to him, and had applied for electrical connection for the bore-well; thereafter electricity connection was given on 09.08.2011; there is no drinking water source near his agricultural land, and without the bore-well it would not be possible for him to cultivate his land; and, since the second respondent was interfering with his cultivation activities, he was constrained to invoke the jurisdiction of this Court under Article 226 of the Constitution of India. Section 8 of the Andhra Pradesh Water, Land and Trees Act, 2002 (for short, ‘the Act’), relates to registration of wells and, under Sub-section (2) thereof, from the date of commencement of the Act, the owners of all the wells including those which are not fitted with power driven pumps and water bodies in the State, shall register their wells/water bodies with the authority in such manner as may be prescribed. Rule 12 of the Andhra Pradesh Water, Land and Trees Rules, 2004 (for short, ‘the Rules’), relates to registration of wells, and the said provision requires every owner of a well to register the well as per Section 8(2) of the Act by an application giving details in Form-I. These details are required to be entered in the Register. Sri P. Venkata Rao, Learned Counsel for the petitioner, would submit that after the Writ Petition was filed, the second respondent had taken away the pipeline, which connected the pump with the bore-well, without putting the petitioner on notice and without giving him an opportunity of being heard. If, as submitted by the petitioner, his agricultural land is situated beyond 250 Square metres from the drinking water source, all that the Act requires is for the petitioner to register the well/bore-well dug by him in terms of the provisions of the Act and the Rules made thereunder. Sri P. Venkata Rao, Learned Counsel for the petitioner, states that an application as prescribed under Rule 12 of the Rules would be submitted in Form-I by the petitioner within one week from today. The second respondent shall register the well in accordance with Section 8 of the Act and Rule 12 of the Rules within one week from the date of receipt of the application and, in case the petitioner’s bore-well is located at a distance beyond 250 Square metres of a drinking water source, take immediate steps to reconnect the disconnected pipe within three days of the well being registered. The Writ Petition stands disposed of accordingly. However, in the circumstances, without costs. _____________________________ RAMESH RANGANATHAN, J September 15, 2011 MD THE HON'BLE SRI JUSTICE RAMESH RANGANATHAN WRIT PETITION No.25519 OF 2011 September 15, 2011 MD