Shimla, Feb. 17 -- Despite the objection of governor Shiv Pratap Shukla, the Himachal Pradesh assembly on Monday again passed the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Himachal Pradesh Amendment Bill, 2025, without changes with voice vote while the opposition remained silent. So now the Himachal Pradesh legislative assembly again has given a nod to the bill seeking to make amendments to the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016. The amendment bill was introduced in the House by minister of town and country planning Rajesh Dharmani, replacing the chief justice of the high court of Himachal Pradesh with the chief secretary as the chairperson of the Real Estate Regulatory Authority Selection Committee. The governor had sent the bill back for reconsideration as it was "not nayasangat" (not justified). As per the amendments proposed by the government, the 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. The bill in its statement of the objective states, the Real Estate Regulatory Authority 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 by facilitating timely appointments," it added. The amendment proposes to prescribe a fixed four years, non-renewable tenure for the chairperson and members of the Himachal Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority. The government justified replacing chief justice with CS saying primarily RERA is administrative and regulatory body requiring expertise in administration, housing, law and related fields which CS or any other officer of the rank of the secretary adequately possesses. The bill passed in winter session in December 2025 was introduced in backdrop of the selection committee last year headed by the chief justice of the HP high court did not consider former Himachal chief secretary Prabodh Saxena's candidature for the post of RERA chairperson. 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. Sources in the government had said the selection committee for RERA post, headed by the Chief Justice of the HP high court, and the secretary (urban development) and the secretary (law) as its members, had raised objections to Saxena's candidature in wake of a pending case. Saxena faces a chargesheet in the INX Media scam, in which former Union finance minister P Chidambaram and his son Karti are also named as accused. RD Dhiman was eventually appointed as the HP RERA chief in June....