Agreeing with him, the court observed, “We will also be in a better position to know the facts (by then).” It also asked “all parties concerned” to “fully co-operate with the survey teams” and “not to cause any obstruction”.

Earlier, NBA counsel Shanti Bhushan contended that as per the earlier SC order, rehabilitation work had to be completed well in advance before the dam height was raised.

However, the ASG pointed out that the SC order had thrown up two situations. “If rehabilitation had to be pari pasu (simultaneous) the work, then it was enough that people were resettled by June 30. But if what the court meant was that it should be completed a year in advance, then clearly work could not go on.”

The ASG also discredited the report of the Group of Ministers on the rehabilitation work saying it was “not entirely accurate”.

“A blanket statement could not be made that there are no rehabilitation sites in Madhya Pradesh with basic amenities. They are there but in some clusters. In others, after the court’s last order, work has picked up.”

Appearing for MP, Senior Counsel Harish Salve “agreed” that people in as many as 110 villages had not moved out.

But this was because they were being told to hang on as that would get them a “sweeter deal” and also because of their attachment to the land, he claimed.

Salve added that their unwillingness to move could also be because of the results of a study by the Central Water Commission that the possibility of about 26 villages going under water was likely only once in 100 years.

... contd.