Himachal sends Section 118 land law changes to select committee

The Himachal Pradesh Assembly has referred a Bill amending Section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972, to a select committee for detailed review, The Tribune reported on 6 December 2025.

Section 118 restricts the transfer of land in the state to non-agriculturists, which in practice means most buyers from outside Himachal need state government permission to buy land.

What the Bill proposes

Revenue Minister Jagat Singh Negi introduced the Bill on 2 December 2025. Its main proposals, as reported:

• non-agriculturists could buy completed buildings or flats directly from private developers;
• building leases of up to 10 years would be exempt from Section 118 restrictions;
• delayed investment projects could get time extensions on payment of a prescribed penalty;
• village cooperative societies could acquire land without special permission.

The select committee

On the last day of the winter session, Speaker Kuldeep Singh Pathania accepted a request from BJP MLA Randhir Sharma, backed by Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, to send the Bill to a select committee with members from both the ruling Congress and the opposition BJP. The committee was to report during the Budget session.

Status

Until the Bill is passed and notified, the existing Section 118 rules apply in full. We have not been able to confirm the committee's report or any further passage of the Bill at the time of publishing this page on our new site; we will update this story when that changes. Anyone planning to buy property in Himachal should take advice on the current law before paying a deposit.