Lucknow, May 31 (IANS): The Allahabad High Court Monday set aside the acquisition of 157 acres of land by the Uttar Pradesh government for industrial development in Greater Noida.

The order came on a batch of 58 writ petitions clubbed together by the court.

A division bench comprising Justice Sunil Ambwani and Justice Kashi Nath Pandey set aside the government's acquisition in 2008.

The land in question lies in Gulistanpur village in Dadri Tehsil, barely 30 km from Bhatta-Parsaul village in Greater Noida that has been in the eye of a storm over acquisition of land for the Yamuna Expressway.

While challenging the 2008 acquisition, the petitioners alleged that far from being used for the purpose for which the land was acquired, the entire chunk of land was being passed on to some builders.

The petitioners also claimed that the objections raised by them in response to the acquisition notification were ignored by the state authorities.