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MP HIGH Court has directed the State government and others to file an affidavit by March 20 on the maintenance and safety measures of the Indira Sagar Dam in Khandwa.

Rajendra Prasad of village Badgaon Mal Khandwa alongwith few villagers of Junapani, Badgaon Raiyyat and Karanpura filed an application seeking direction for a probe into the damage caused to the dam structure recently.

The villagers said that the probe was necessary to ensure safety of the people living in downstream districts including Badwani, Dewa and Jhabua. The villagers had filed some news clippings of February in this regard.

A division bench comprising Justice Dipak Misra and Justice SS Kemkar recently heard the petitioners’ counsel Abhijeet Bhowmik before directing government.

The petitioners have also sought direction from the HC to restrict water level in the dam to 245 meters till payment of compensation.

But the HC said the question of reducing water level does not arise at this stage as the Grievance Redressal Authority (GRA) is monitoring compensation work and regular reports are being submitted by it.

The petitioners’ counsel said the land acquisition work is going at snail’s pace in 48 villages where additional submergence of areas was found.

Advocate General RN Singh assured the court that 80 per cent of amount will be disbursed to the landowners positively by April 7 for which the government would issue a notification by March 20.

Assistant Solicitor General of India Dharmendra Sharma submitted that the Survey of India and Central Water Commission (CWC) have started survey work but the CWC is not is a position to proceed without cooperation of the district administration.

Singh assured the court that the district administration would extend fullest cooperation to the CWC as there might be some communication gap.

The court directed the officials of CWC, Survey of India, the NHDC, the collectors of Khandwa, Harda and Hoshangabad, additional district magistrates and tehsildars to attend the meeting of April 3 to be held at Khandwa in this connection.