Rudrapur, Oct. 30 -- The Union ministry of environment, forest and climate change's (MoEFCC) rejection of forest land near Belbaba temple on the Rudrapur-Haldwani highway for shifting the Uttarakhand high court from Nainital has left property dealers and buyers in a tailspin, halting a speculative buying frenzy that had seen land prices skyrocket overnight. Real estate activity around the proposed site had surged after the state cabinet approved the proposal to transfer 30 hectares of forest land in the Bhakhra forest range. Land rates in the vicinity, hovering between Rs.700 and Rs.1,000 per square foot, soared to Rs.2,500-Rs.4,200 per square foot. "We were expecting brisk business after the government decided to allocate the forest land near Belbaba. The central ministry's rejection has come as a major shock and will severely impact the property market," said Bhuwan Joshi, a Haldwani-based real estate dealer. The speculative wave was the second of its kind in recent years. Initially, investors rushed to Gaulapar following early signals the high court would be relocated there. However, market focus quickly shifted toward Belbaba belt once administration identified the forest range land. Administrative preparations were already underway to secure environmental clearances before the central panel stepped in. "The Belbaba site required felling only 123 trees, along with uprooting several smaller plants. We had even identified compensatory land in the Betalghat area of Nainital district for afforestation, but the ministry's decision has brought all planning to a standstill," said a senior administrative officer. Earlier this week, the Regional Empowered Committee (REC) of the MoEFCC rejected a proposal to relocate the high court to Belbaba, citing the failure to adequately explore alternative non-forest land for the project....