Himachal assembly session: RERA amendment bill passed amid opposition walkout

Dharamshala/Shimla (HP), Dec 3 (PTI) The state assembly on Wednesday passed the Real Estate (Regulation and Development), Himachal Amendment Bill amid protests and walkout by the opposition.

Currently, the high court chief justice is the chairperson of the committee that recommends the members and chairperson of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA).

The Bill, however, seeks to replace the chief justice with the chief secretary for the role.

It also provides for a fixed four-year non-renewable tenure for the chairpersons and the members as opposed to the existing five-year term, subject to the age limit of 65 years at present.

The BJP MLAs left the House before the passage of the Bill, which then took place in the absence of the opposition. The Amendment would come into effect after the assent of the President.

Participating in the debate, Leader of Opposition Jai Ram Thakur and BJP MLAs Randhir Sharma and Trilok Jamwal demanded withdrawal of the Bill.

The BJP leaders said RERA was a central act and the state government was not competent to amend it.

Thakur said that the act was in the concurrent list, and the Supreme Court had said in 2021 in cases related to tribunals that no interference in constitutional institutions would be brook.

Sharma also asked why the government had brought the Bill, while Trilok Jamwal questioned why the government was keen on removing the chief justice as the chairman of the committee.

Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu argued that any reputed public figure with experience can be appointed the chairperson of the committee and asserted that the state government has the right to make amendments in rules under the concurrent list.

The erstwhile BJP government had also amended the NDPS and Factory Acts during its tenure, Sukhu recalled, adding that the state government respects the high court and honours its decisions. Town and Country Planning Minister Rajesh Dharmani alleged that the opposition was trying to blow up the issue to gain political mileage. PTI BPL PRK PRK