In 2010, a nuclear power plant was proposed at Gorakhpur village in Haryana's Fatehabad district. For the project, the government had to acquire 1,400 acres (three villages), which included private as well as common land. After agitating for two years, farmers of all the villages gave up their land in early 2016. However, common grazing land, where residential complex for staff of the plant had to come up, became a matter of conflict.

The villagers challenged the takeover of this common land in the National Green Tribunal. They argued that the wildlife in the region including blackbucks will be affected with the project. Furthermore, the affected people alleged that they were paid lesser compensation than what was promised during land acquisition. They are also demanding for jobs promised in the plant.

In June 2018, Haryana government decided to relocate the residential complex and gave 194 acres of land in Agroha town to Nuclear Power Corporation of India Limited (NPCIL), union government's project implementing agency. In September 2018, the NGT ruled against the demands of the villagers.

In January 2019, site excavation works started and according to the government, the first phase of the plant was expected to commence operations in 2025.

The villagers approached the Haryana and Punjab High Court arguing that the state government did not provided them with the promised jobs. In September 2020, the court directed the state government to provide the jobs in three months.

In March 2021, NGT dismissed a review petition against its previous order filed by Akhil Bhartiya Jeev Raksha Bishnoi Sabha (ABJRBS), an environment conservation organisation. "We have challenged the NGT order in Supreme Court," said Vinod of ABJRBS. Stating that the conflict is ongoing, Vinod said: "Many project affected families are being denied jobs in the nuclear plant and the wildlife in the region is still under threat as NPCIL did not come up with a conservation plan for the region it acquired."

In 2021, the NPCIL announced that it would spend Rs 1.35 crore under its corporate social responsibility initiative to develop a community reserve area for the protection of endangered species of blackbucks and soft-shell turtles in Dhangar and Kajlaheri villages. 

In July 2023, Haryana Forest and Environment Minister Kanwar Pal announced that the land of NPCIL in Fatehabad district would be acquired to conserve blackbucks in the state. "It was informed that a land dispute related to the project had been settled and the land would soon be transferred from the Rural Development and Panchayats Department to the Forest Research Institute," the Tribune reported in 2023.

In April 2023, while the project was ongoing, the villagers had also protested against the discharge of underground water into the Bhakra Main Line (BML) canal. The villagers claimed that the water being released by the nuclear plant was salty in nature, harmful, especially as it was being used for drinking purposes. The villagers had also filed a formal complaint with the district administration, stating that salty underground water may cause health issues in people. 
 
These allegations were denied by NPCIL officials. “We are not discharging enough water to disturb the water quality of the Bhakra canal,” an official told The Indian Express. The concerns of the villagers were termed baseless by the authorities. 

The work for the nuclear plant, said to generate 2,800 MW of electricity, is still underway. It was originally supposed to be completed by 2028, but was delayed by the conflict. Earlier this year, Union Power Minister Manohar Lal Khattar, accompanied by Haryana Chief Minister Nayab Singh Saini, visited the Gorakhpur Nuclear Power Plant site in Fatehabad district and announced that despite delays, the long-pending project is underway, with two of its four units expected to be commissioned by 2031 and the remaining two by 2032, The Tribune reported. 

Talking to Land Conflict Watch, Vinod Karwasara Bishnoi, president of the Haryana Unit of Akhil Bhartiya Jeev Raksha Bishnoi Sabha (ABJRBS), an environmental conservation organisation, said, “There have been no protests in the last five years, and the work for the nuclear plant is undergoing.” Bishnoi also mentioned that while the government has taken action toward wildlife conservation during the setting up of the nuclear plant after protests, villagers are still unaware of the kind of jobs they can get. “The NPCIL is outsourcing for positions, but the youth are not trained in this kind of work,” he said.