Dharamshala, Dec. 4 -- The Himachal Pradesh assembly on Wednesday cleared the bill seeking to replace the chief justice of the high court with the chief secretary as the chairperson of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority selection committee. The Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Himachal Pradesh Amendment Bill, 2025, proposing significant changes to the selection process of the RERA authority, was introduced in the House on Monday by town and country planning minister Rajesh Dharmani. As per the amendments proposed by the government, the RERA chairperson and members will be appointed by the state government based on recommendations of a three-member selection committee comprising the chief secretary as chairperson, the housing department secretary as member-convener, and the law secretary as member. Earlier this year, the selection panel headed by the chief justice had objected to candidature of former chief secretary Prabodh Saxena for the post of RERA chairperson in the wake of a CBI chargesheet against him in the infamous INX Media scam, in which former Union finance inister P Chidambaram and his son Karti are also named as accused. Saxena was considered as the front-runner for the position, which had fallen vacant in December last year following the retirement of then chairperson Shrikant Baldi. RD Dhiman was eventually appointed as the HP RERA chief in June, after the HC pulled up the state government for delay. The bill, in its statement of the objective, states the RERA is primarily an administrative and regulatory body requiring expertise in administration, housing, law, and related fields, which the chief secretary, or any other officer in the rank of secretary, adequately possesses. "This change respects the principle of separation of powers by avoiding judicial involvement in executive appointments, thereby, preventing potential conflicts of interest. An executive-led committee will ensure a fair, merit-based selection process and improve operational efficiency," it added. The amendment also proposes a fixed four-year, non-renewable tenure for the chairperson and members of RERA. The central tribunal reforms Acts do not extend to RERA; hence, the tenure and service conditions are governed solely by the Real Estate Regulatory Development Act and applicable state rules. A four-year tenure strikes a balance between institutional stability. Speaking on the bill, Leader of the Opposition Jai Ram Thakur said that the state government had unnecessarily invited confrontation with the judiciary. "What do they want to achieve when the chairman has already been appointed for five years? There is only one RERA Act in the country, and appointments are made according to that. We oppose this amendment." he said. "I believe the CM wants to run RERA like a government department," he added. Questioning the move, BJP MLA Randhir Sharma said, "The RERA Act is a central Act. How can the provisions of a central Act be amended in the Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly?" Responding to the Opposition, chief minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu said, "This Act falls under the Concurrent List Entry 6, Seventh Schedule, states have the right to amend the rules. Also, any bill which is passed goes to the governor for assent." "It is true that it is a central Act and the state has adopted it but it is in concurrent list and the government of the day has every right to amend it. It is not any confrontation with the judiciary. We respect the high court chief justice and judiciary. Our HC is overloaded with work and this is not on the priority of the court. There is no bad intention in bringing these amendments, the government wants to bring better administrative efficiency," said Rajesh Dharmani. Opposition legislators walked out of the house for some time in protest against the bill. However, the bill was passed in the House. The legislative assembly also gave its nod to the Himachal Pradesh Recruitment and Conditions of Service of Government Employees (Amendment) Bill, 2025. The bill seeks to amend the Section 10 of the Himachal Pradesh Recruitment and Conditions of Service of Government Employees Act, 2024. "Section 10 of the Act stipulates that rules made under the Act shall be notified only after previous publication. This requirement is likely to cause unavoidable delays in framing or amendment of rules relating to the recruitment and conditions of service of government employees," the bill states. "To ensure timely formulation of rules by various departments, it is proposed that Section 10 be amended to dispense with the requirement of previous publication," the bill passed in the House states....