However, information on the total land acquired and released by Haryana in the last three years is yet to be furnished by the government. Departments like Urban Estate, Town and Country Planning are yet to submit the record of the land acquired and released by them in the last three years.

The Haryana government has been directed to produce the entire record by July 6.

During the resumed hearing of the case, Haryana Advocate General Hawa Singh Hooda dismissed allegations of pick-and-choose acquisition and release by the government. He stated that only 1,000 acres was released for a cluster of houses, and for industries. Submitting a voluminous record which runs into over 5,000 documents, the Haryana government submitted that at various points of time, land was acquired and released by the government by way of issuing notifications.

The detailed reply, which runs into over 100 pages, further clarifies that the land was released as per the decisions taken by the committees constituted by the High Court, and the municipal committees constituted by the government. The reply further reads that the land acquired and released was also challenged in the past by various people living in the vicinity, but the disputes were solved by the High Court and government.

The land is in Sonepat, Faridabad, Gurgaon, Panchkula, Karnal and other districts. Justifying the ‘controversial’ acquisition, Haryana government claimed that the land was always acquired for development of infrastructure, and was never released to any private person. The state has refuted allegations of fraud.

A division bench comprising Justice A K Goel and Justice Jitendra Chauhan has also directed the Haryana government to produce the copies of the decision-making by various authorities before acquiring or releasing land. “This is an issue which will affect all the residents of Haryana. We are not looking at an individual case but looking at the larger picture” the Bench remarked.

The High Court had sought details of the land acquired and released in the last three years, keeping in view the increasing number of cases alleging shady land acquisition in the garb of public interest. The orders were passed in January this year.