The Punjab and Haryana High Court on Thursday issued notices to Haryana, the Atomic Energy Regulatory Board, Nuclear Power Corporation of India, and Ministry of Environment and Forest on a plea challenging the acquisition of land for setting up 2,800 MW Gorakhpur atomic power project. A division bench headed by Justice Hemant Gupta also issued notices to the Land Acquisition Collector, Fatehabad. Terming the exercise of land acquisition by Haryana “arbitrary, unjust, whimsical and against law”, the petitioners have sought quashing of the notifications issued by the state for setting up the nuclear power project. As many as 60 villagers have moved the High Court. The land for the project is being acquired in three villages: Gorakhpur, Kajal-Heri and Badopal in Fatehabad district. The petitioners have sought shifting of the project site towards barren/less fertile land in the adjoining villages/districts. “The proposed site has highly populated villages with thousands of population around it and having two major cities, Hisar and Fatehabad, and sub-divisions of Bhuna and Barwala within the radius of 30 to 35 km,” said the petition. The case has been adjourned to first week of February.