Hyderabad, Sept. 23: The Andhra Pradesh High Court on Tuesday issued notices to the state government and the Hyderabad Metro Rail Corporation Limited on a miscellaneous petition filed against Metro Rail project. Dr C. Ramachandraiah and O.M. Debra, residents of the city, sought an interim direction to restrain the government and the HMRC from going ahead with the work. The petitioner earlier filed a main writ against the project. The petitioners told the court that the HMRC and the government were trying to acquire property for the Metro Rail without prior environmental clearance from the Union ministry of environment and forests. They told the court that the government staff quarters in Malakpet was being taken over to construct Line 1 of Metro Rail and it also began land acquisition process at Narayanguda and Musheerabad for Line 2. They submitted that the work was entrusted to the selected consortium through an agreement. A division bench comprising Justice Goda Raghuram and Justice P.V. Sanjay Kumar while dealing with the interim petition observed that decisions and actions which are taken by the government and HMRC will be subject to the further orders on this petition. The court asked the environment and forest department, principal secretary municipal and urban development and the HMRC to file their counter affidavits by October 17 and directed the petitioners to file their reply by October 24. The case has been posted to October 30.