Allahabad HC asks YEIDA if land was allotted to Patanjali for food park

The Allahabad High Court on Wednesday asked the Yamuna Expressway Industrial Development Authority (YEIDA) if any land was allotted to yoga guru Swami Ramdev's firm Patanjali Ayurved directly or indirectly for setting up a food park and sought details if it was done. The bench comprising justices Tarun Agarwala and Ajay Bhanot also issued notice to Patanjali Ayurved on a petition by a man named Ausaf and others of Gautam Budh Nagar who challenged the alleged allotment of 400 acres of land in favour of Patanjali Ayurved Noida. The court asked YEIDA to provide all the records showing details of allotment of land in favour of Patanjali Ayurved and such other company or firm or industry that directly or indirectly relates to Patanjali Ayurved along with maps. The court has fixed November 14 for the next hearing in the case. The petitioners alleged that they were allotted land on lease for plantation of trees in 1994 for 30 years but now that land was allotted illegally by YEIDA to Patanjali Ayurved. During the course of hearing, the Yamuna Expressway authority said neither its officers went to cut down tree nor any tree existed on the spot. However, the state government in its affidavit stated that the authority's officers went to the disputed land to cut the trees and at least 300 trees are there. "It seems that cover-up operations are going on. Neither the government, nor the authority is ready to answer whose JCB machines were used to pull down trees," the court had observed on an earlier date.