(1) Whoever, voluntarily and without proper authority, does any of the following acts, that is to say:-
(a) damages, alters, enlarges, or obstructs any irrigation system;
(b) interferes with, increases, or diminishes the water supply in, or the flow of water from, through, over or under any irrigation system;
(c) being responsible for the maintenance of the irrigation system under a pipe outlet neglects to take proper precaution for the prevention of wastage of the water thereof interferes with the authorised distribution of water there from or uses water in an unauthorised manner, or in such manner as to cause damage to the adjacent land holdings;
(d) corrupts or fouls, water of any irrigation system so as to render it less fit for the purpose for which it is ordinarily used;
(e) obstructs or removes any level marks or water guage or any other mark or sign fixed by the authority or a public servant;
(f) opens, shuts, or obstructs or attempts to open, shut or obstruct any sluice or outlet or any other similar contrivance in any irrigation system;
(g) uses water unlawfully or unauthorisedly or agrees or allows to grow any crop in contravention of any notification under this Act, shall be liable for conviction before a Magistrate.
(2) Any person who is convicted for the offences under sub-section (1) shall—
(i) for the first offence, be punished with fine which may extended to five hundred rupees:
(ii) for a second or subsequent offence, be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to three months or with fine which shall not be less than two hundred rupees, but may extend to one thousand rupees or with both.
(3) Whoever contrivances any of the provisions of section 8 or section 9 or section 10 shall be liable for conviction before a Magistrate and shall be punished with a fine which may extend to five hundred rupees.
(4) In case of continuing offence, a fine not exceeding fifty rupees per day shall be imposed during the period of continuance of the offence.
35. Abetment of offences - Whoever abets any offence punishable by or under this Act or attempts to commit any such offence, shall be punished with the penalty provided by or under this Act for committing such offence.
36. Punishment under other laws not barred - Nothing in this Act shall prevent any person from being prosecuted and punished under any other law for the time being in force for any act or omission made punishable by or under this Act:
Provided that no person shall be prosecuted and punished for the same offence more than once.
37. Summary disposal of cases - (1) Notwithstanding anything in the Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973(Central Act 2 of 1974), an offence punishable under this Act may also be tried summarily under the provisions of Chapter XXI of the said Code:
Provided that no sentence of imprisonment for a term exceeding three months shall be passed in any such case tried summarily.
(2) All offences under this Act shall be cognizable but bailable in the manner provided by Code of Criminal Procedure, 1973 (Central Act 2 of 1974).
38. Power to remove and take into custody person obstructing - Any officer or authority in-charge of or employed on any irrigation system may, remove from the land or any building thereon, or take into custody without a warrant and forthwith handover to a police officer in-charge of the nearest police station, any person who within his view—
(a) willfully damages, alters, enlarges or obstructs any irrigation system; or
(b) without proper authority, interferes with the supply or flow of water, in or from any irrigation system so as to endanger, damage or render less useful such irrigation system:
Provided that every such person taken into custody shall be produced before the nearest magistrate within a period of twenty four hours of such custody excluding the time necessary for the journey from the place of arrest to the court of the magistrate and no such person shall be detained in custody beyond the said period without the authority of a magistrate.
39. Payment of reward to informants - (1) Whenever any fine is imposed for an offence under this Act, the court which imposes such fine or which confirms in appeal or revision a sentence of such fine, or a sentence of which such fine forms part, may direct that the whole or any part of such fine may be paid by way of reward to any person who gave information leading to the detection of such offence or to the conviction of the offender.
(2) If any such fine is ordered to be paid as reward by a court whose decision is subject to appeal the amount ordered to be so paid, shall not be paid until the period prescribed for presentation of the appeal has elapsed, or if an appeal is preferred, until after the disposal of the appeal.
40. Composition of Offences - (1) Any Irrigation Officer may accept from any person who committed or in respect of whom a reasonable belief can be inferred that he has committed an offence punishable under this Act or the rules made thereunder, a sum of money not exceeding two hundred rupees, by way of composition for such offence.
(2) On payment of such sum of money, the said person, if in custody, shall be discharged and no further proceedings shall be taken against him in regard to the offence, so compounded.
CHAPTER-IX MISCELLANEOUS
41. Obligation of land holders of land adjacent to notified command area - Where, for safety of an irrigation system in the notified command area and for other technical reasons, it is considered necessary to take any soil conservation measures, like contour bunding and trenching, in lands adjacent to the lands under the notified command area, the Land Development Officer shall have and exercise all the powers under the Andhra Pradesh (Andhra Area) Land Improvement Schemes (Contour Bunding and Contour Trenching) Act, 1949 (Act of XXII of 1949), and the Andhra Pradesh (Telangana Area) Land Improvement Act, 1953(Act of XIX of 1953), or any other similar law for the time being in force in respect of soil conservation measures required to be taken therein.
42. Recovery of dues as arrears of land revenue - Whenever any sum is due to be paid by any person under this Act and the sum has not been paid within the time specified for such payment, it shall be recoverable with interest at such rate as may be prescribed, as an arrear of land revenue.
43. Bar of Jurisdiction of Civil Courts - (1) No order passed or proceeding taken by an officer or authority under this Act shall be called in question in any court, in any suit or application and no injunction shall be granted by any court in respect of any action taken or about to be taken by such officer or authority in pursuance of any power conferred by or under this Act.
(2) No suit, prosecution or other proceedings shall like against any officer or servant of the Government for any act done or purported to be done under this Act, without the previous sanction of the Government.
(3) No officer or servant of the Government shall be liable in respect of any such act in any civil or criminal proceeding, if the act was done in good faith in the course of execution of duties or the discharge of the functions imposed by or under this Act.
(4) Save as otherwise provided in this Act, no suit shall be instituted against the Government in respect of any act done unless the suit is instituted within six months from the date of the act complained of.
44. Power to summon and examine witnesses - Any officer empowered under this Act to conduct any inquiry may exercise all such powers connected with summoning and examining of the witnesses and the production of documents as are conferred on a civil court under the Code of Civil Procedure, 1908 (Central Act 5 of 1908) and any such inquiry shall be deemed to be a judicial proceeding.
45. Revision by the submission - (1) The Commissioner may, either suo-motu at any time or on an application made to him within the prescribed period by any person interested, shall call for and examine the record relating to any decision or order passed or proceeding taken by any authority, or officer subordinate to him under this Act for the purpose of satisfying himself as to the legality or propriety of such decision or order or as to the regularity of such proceeding and if, in any case, it appears to him that any decision, order or proceeding should be modified, annulled, reversed or remitted for reconsideration, he may pass order accordingly:
Provided that no order adversely affecting any person shall be passed under this sub-section unless such person has been given an opportunity of making a representation.
(2) The Commission may stay the execution of any such decision, order or proceeding pending the exercise of his powers under sub - section (1) in respect thereof.
46. Power of revision by Government - (1) The Government may, either suo-motu or on an application made to them, call for and examine the record relating to any decision or order passed by the Commissioner under this Act, for the purpose of satisfying themselves as to the legality, regularly or propriety of such decision or order and if in any case, it appears to them that any such decision or order should be modified, annulled, reversed or remitted for reconsideration, they may pass order accordingly.
Provided that no application for the revision of any such decision or order shall be entertained after the expiry of sixty days from the date of such decision or order:
Provided further that the Government shall not pass any order adversely affecting any person unless such person has had an opportunity of making a representation.
(2) The Government may stay the execution of such decision or order pending the exercise of their power under sub-section (1) in respect thereof.
47. Power to make rules - (1) The Government may, by notification, make rules to carry out all or any of the purposes of this Act.
(2) Every rule made under this Act, shall immediately after it is made, be laid before each House of the State Legislature if it is in session and if it is not in session in the session immediately following, for a total period of fourteen days which may be comprised in one session or in two successive seasons, and if, before the expiration of the session in which it is so laid or the session immediately following, both Houses agree in making any modification in the rule or in the annulment of the rule, the rule shall from the date on which the modification or annulment is notified, have effect only in such modified form or shall stand annulled, as the case may be, so however that any such modification or annulment shall be without prejudice to the validity of anything previously done under that rule.
(3) Any person contravening any rule under this Act, for the contravention of which no special penalty is provided, shall be punished with imprisonment for a term which may extend to one month or with fine which may extend to five hundred rupees or with both:
Provided that no prosecution under this sub-section shall be instituted without the previous sanction of the District Collector.
48. Act to override other laws - The provision of this Act and the rules made there under shall have effect notwithstanding anything inconsistent therewith contained in any other law for the time being in force, or any custom, usage or contract or decree or order of a court or other authority.
49. Power to remove difficulties - (1) If any difficulty arises in giving effect to any provision of this Act, the Government may, be notification, make such provisions not inconsistent with the provisions of this Act, as appear to them to be necessary or expedient for the purpose of removing the difficulty:
Provided that no such notification shall be issued under this section after the expiry of two years from the date of commencement of this Act.
(2) Every notification issued under this section shall be laid before each House of the State Legislature and the provisions of sub-section (2) of section 47 shall apply in respect of such notification as it applies in respect of a rule made under this Act.
50. Savings in respect of Adhoc-Command Area Development Authority -
(1) A Command Area Development Authority constituted for any command area or command areas, before the commencement of this Act, 1[under any law for the time being in force] (hereinafter in this section referred to as “Adhoc Command Area Development Authority”) shall cease to exist on the date on which a Command Area Development Authority is duly constituted for such command area or command areas in accordance with the provisions of this Act.
(2) All things done or other action taken by an Adhoc Command Area Development Authority shall be deemed to have been done or taken by the Command Area Development Authority constituted in its place under this Act and all assets vested in, and all liabilities subsisting against, an Adhoc Command Area Development Authority on that date, shall devolve on the Command Area Development Authority constituted in its place under this Act.
51. Repeal of Ordinance 32 of 1983 - The Andhra Pradesh Irrigation Utilisation and Command Area Development Ordinance, 1983 is hereby repealed.
1. Substituted by the Act No. 1 of 1993, S.3.