HC orders status-quo on Rae Bareli land for rail coach factory

Lucknow, Oct 13 (UNI) The Lucknow bench of the Allahabad High Court today directed to maintain status quo on the land, at which Rs 2,200 crore rail coach factory was proposed to be set up in Rae Bareli -- the parliamentary constituency of Congress president Sonia Gandhi.

Passing an interim order, the bench comprising Justices Pradeep Kant and Sabhual Hassnain said neither the possession of the land would be taken back from the Railway department, nor the land would be allotted to anyone by the state government.

The order was passed on two writ petitions -- one filed on behalf of Union of India and another by Avnendra Pandey and Dinesh Chandra Mishra on behalf of the farmers of Ahar village in Rae Bareli district.

The Court has given one week's time for respondents that is the Uttar Pradesh government to file the affidavit. The order stated that the stutus-quo on the land had to be maintained with no construction and allotment of land to anyone till further orders.

The matter reached the Court after Uttar Pradesh government yesterday withdrew the 189.25 hectare of land given to Railway Ministry for the proposed rail coach factory project in Rae Bareli over resentment among farmers and locals over the allotment of the land.

Ms Gandhi and Union Railway Minister Lalu Prasad Yadav were scheduled to lay the foundation stone of the ambitious project on October 14.

The Court, however, did not give its directions on the function scheduled for tomorrow saying it had only taken into considerations the legal points.

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