HYDERABAD: A division bench of the High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the principal secretaries to fisheries, forest and environment and irrigation of Andhra Pradesh government for filing detailed counter affidavits in a taken-up PIL case of alleged illegal conversion of highly fertile and double-crop wet lands into fish/shrimp ponds, particularly in the coastal areas of East Godavari and West Godavari, Krishna, Guntur and Nelllore districts. The bench, comprising acting chief justice Ramesh Ranganathan and justice MSK Jaiswal, was admitting the PIL which was based on a letter addressed to the chief justice by Elipe Dharma Rao, retired High Court judge and resident of Krapa village in Inavalli mandal in East Godavari district.
The retired judge, in his letter, said that thousands of acres of agricultural lands, particularly in the above districts, were becoming highly saline and becoming unsuitable for any agricultural operation. He alleged that these lands were illegally converted into fish ponds by flouting all the legal norms by some powerful people with the connivance of government officials concerned.
The politicians would follow stick method by pressurising the farmers concerned to lend their lands for illegal conversion into fish ponds. In fact, these illegal activities would have cascading effect not only on the agricultural operations but also on the ecology, flora and fauna of the entire area. While seeking the court intervention to protect agriculture and the lives of scores of agricultural labour, he wanted the chief justice to set up an independent body to personally inspect the above areas and submit report
 to the court.
