Vijayawada, Nov. 12: The Krishna district administration is geared up to crack a whip on indiscriminate aqua farming. The district collector, Mr N. Sridhar, issued orders to check the illegal fish tanks which are flouting norms of Coastal Aqua Culture Authority Act 2005. Under the Act, every farmer should register his land which is under aqua cultivation and has to pay a nominal fee. If they fail to do so, they are bound to face two years imprisonment and a fine of Rs 1 lakh or both. To make the Act more stringent, the central government issued orders to exporters not to purchase aqua produce from unregistered firms. Krishna district is in number one position in aqua cultivation as Nellore has lost its position because of being the leading district with a vast coastal line after white spot virus caused heavy loss to the farmers in the 90s. In all, 4,585 hectares of land is being converted into aqua farms and the number is on the increase in the district, according to the fisheries director, Mr B. Suryaprakash Rao. "We are creating awareness among the farmers who turned to aqua farming in recent times to get registered to avoid further action under the Aqua Act. The response from the farmers was good as we have received 1,993 applications seeking registration," he said. The district authorities have constituted five teams to inspect the fish tanks across the district. The district collector, at a meeting conducted recently, warned the officials of stern action if the violation of norms by farmers go unchecked. "We make village-level committee members responsible for processing the proposals for giving licences to the fish ponds. They must personally visit every tank, whether the soil conservation, environmental aspects, protection of farm lands and safety of the drinking water are not in any way being affected by the aqua culture," he explained. Mr Suryaprakash Rao, who is also the member convenor of the district-level aqua committee which is chaired by the collector, informed that aqua culture is mostly found in Kalidindi, Nagayalanka, Machilipatnam, Kaikaluru, Kruttivennu and Koduru mandals. "Our teams are conducting special drives on unregistered fish tanks," Mr Suryaprakash Rao said.