Himachal govt notifies appointment of new HP RERA chairperson and member after High Court rap over delay

Shimla (Himachal Pradesh) [India], June 24 (ANI): The Himachal Pradesh government notified the appointment of former IAS officers RD Dhiman and Amit Kashyap as Chairperson and Member respectively of the Himachal Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (HP RERA), days after the High Court pulled up the state government over the delay and imposed a cost of Rs 5 lakh.
As per the notification issued by the Housing Department (No. HSG-A003/1/2024-L dated June 24, 2025), RD. Dhiman, IAS (Retd.), has been appointed as the Chairperson of HP RERA, while Amit Kashyap, IAS (Retd.), has been named as a Member of HP RERA. The appointments have been made under Section 20 of the Real Estate (Regulation and Development) Act, 2016, following the recommendations of the Selection Committee.
"The tenure of the office of the aforementioned Chairperson and Member shall be five years or till attaining the age of sixty-five years, whichever is earlier, from the date they assume the charge of their respective posts," the notification stated.
The order also relieves Principal Secretary (Housing) Devesh Kumar, IAS, from the additional charge of Chairperson, HP RERA, which he was holding in the absence of a full-time appointee.
The appointments come in the wake of strong observations made by the Himachal Pradesh High Court earlier this month, where the court had expressed deep concern over the prolonged delay in filling the statutory posts of the real estate regulator. The court noted that the state government had failed to appoint a chairperson and members for more than a year despite the critical role of the authority in safeguarding the interests of homebuyers.
In a stern order, the High Court had imposed a cost of ₹5 lakh on the state government for the "casual and insensitive approach" in constituting the RERA body and observed that the delay not only violated the statutory provisions of the RERA Act but also undermined public interest. The court had also taken note of the repeated extensions granted to the then Chief Secretary Prabodh Saxena, despite his role as the ex-officio Chairperson, being an ad-hoc arrangement.
The RERA authority had remained defunct for months, adversely affecting real estate regulation and dispute redressal in the state. The court had directed the government to expedite the appointment process without further delay.
The new appointments are expected to restore full functionality to HP RERA and improve oversight and regulation in Himachal Pradesh's real estate sector. (ANI)