BJP slams govt over move to ease land sale restrictions

The opposition BJP has come down heavily on the Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu-led Congress government for its reported move to relax provisions of Section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972, which restricts the sale of land to non-agriculturists and outsiders.

Addressing a press conference here on Sunday, BJP chief spokesperson Trilok Kapoor and spokesperson Vinay Sharma accused the government of attempting to “benefit select individuals” by amending a law that has long protected the rights of local farmers.

Calling Section 118 a “sensitive and sacrosanct provision”, the BJP leaders said no previous government, whether led by Shanta Kumar, Virbhadra Singh, Prem Kumar Dhumal or Jai Ram Thakur, had ever dared to tamper with it. “The BJP will strongly oppose any attempt to dilute this section. It was enacted to safeguard the interests of Himachal’s small farmers and prevent outsiders from monopolising local land,” they asserted.

The leaders clarified that the Act already allows sufficient flexibility. Non-agriculturists can buy land for legitimate purposes, such as setting up industries, educational institutions, or tourism projects, after obtaining due permission from the government. Moreover, they added, no permission is needed to purchase or lease built-up property in urban areas under municipal corporations, councils, notified area committees or cantonment boards, nor when buying plots from government agencies like HIMUDA.

“Therefore, there is no justification for further liberalisation,” they said, warning that relaxing Section 118 could “open the floodgates” for large-scale land acquisition by wealthy outsiders.

They reminded that Section 118 was introduced in 1972 by the state’s first Chief Minister, Dr YS Parmar, with the clear intent of protecting limited agricultural land and preventing its concentration in the hands of the affluent. “Given the state’s mountainous terrain and small landholdings, this protection remains as crucial today as it was then,” the BJP leaders concluded.