Mr. Prabodh Saxena, a 1990-batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS officer and the current Chief Secretary of the state, has applied for the position of Chairman of the Himachal Pradesh Real Estate Regulatory Authority (RERA). The post has been vacant since December 12, 2024, following the conclusion of Dr. Shrikant Baldi’s tenure. Dr. Baldi, a retired 1988-batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS officer, had been appointed during the previous BJP-led government.
In addition to Mr. Saxena, several serving and retired bureaucrats have applied for the position, including Mr. R.D. Dhiman, a retired 1988-batch Himachal Pradesh cadre IAS officer and former Chief Secretary, currently serving as Chief Information Commissioner (CIC). Applications for the RERA Chairman post, as well as two vacant Member positions, were invited by January 23, 2025.
The selection committee for the RERA posts comprises the Himachal Pradesh High Court Chief Justice as Chairperson, along with the Secretary (Urban Development) and the Secretary (Law) as members. The appointment process is expected to take over a month.
Mr. Saxena, who became Chief Secretary on January 2, 2023, is set to retire on March 31, 2025. If appointed to the RERA post, a new Chief Secretary will need to be named before his retirement. Likely contenders include Mr. Sanjay Gupta, a 1988-batch officer and CMD of the Himachal Pradesh State Electricity Board, Mr. Kamlesh Kumar Pant (1993 batch), Ms. Anuradha Thakur (1994 batch), and Mr. Onkar Sharma (1994 batch).
The RERA Chairman post holds significant importance in regulating the state’s real estate sector, making this appointment highly anticipated.
