Himachal Pradesh Chief Secretary Sanjay Gupta on Tuesday denied any role in permission granted for a housing project in Solan, allegedly in violation of Section 118 of the Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, and instead accused two former chief secretaries of defaming him. He further accused one of the said retired officials of “misleading” CM Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu, who, in turn, said that he had no prior knowledge of the issue but promised action “if any irregularities are found”.
Gupta was addressing the media a day after the CPI(M) held a conference alleging that permission for the Chester Hill project in Solan was granted in violation of Section 118 of the Land Reforms Act that restricts the purchase of land by non-Himachalis without permission.
The party demanded an investigation by a Special Investigation Team (SIT) into the alleged benami land deals and said a fair probe is not possible unless the chief secretary is removed from his position. It also alleged that a probe by Solan’s SDM had highlighted the violations in November 2025, but the chief secretary (revenue) had ordered to not take any action. Gupta hold the charge of chief secretary (revenue).
Separately, an advocate has filed a police complaint alleging that Gupta colluded with the operators of the Chester Hill project. The issue also echoed in Vidhan Sabha where BJP MLA Satpal Singh Satti urged the CM to call for the inquiry report of the Solan pertaining to the acquisition of 274 bighas of land in alleged violation of Section 118 and order a probe. Without naming Gupta, Satti demanded his removal alleging that the bureaucrat purchased 3.18 acres of land in Punjab’s Kharar for Rs 1.38 crore. Satti said the issue demanded a probe by the Income Tax department and the ED.
In August 2025,one Rajiv Shandil along with Association of Allottees, Chester Hills, Solan, lodged a complaint with then SDM, Solan, alleging violation of Section 118 of Himachal Pradesh Tenancy and Land Reforms Act, 1972 and benami transactions in Chester Hills-2 and Chester Hills-4 projects. The SDM, following an inquiry, concluded that the entire real estate development activity was carried out through a structured arrangement devised to circumvent the statutory bar imposed under Section 118 (1) of the Act. Although the title of the land was retained in the name of a Himachali agriculturists, the substantive control was held by non-agriculturist promoters. Later, in December 2025, the Himachali agriculturists, indicted in the probe, made a representation before Chief Secretary (Revenue), raising objection to the inquiry report. In response, the Chief Secretary (Revenue) commented that the report was prima facie violative of the settled law and any action by Deputy Commissioner (DC) Solan on the report would hurt the interest of the agriculturists.
Interacting with the media, Gupta alleged that two former chief secretaries — now in-charge of an authority and a corporation — and an engineer are behind the “conspiracy” to malign him as he had lodged complaints against them during his stint with the Electricity Board.
“The housing project was approved by former chief secretary Shrikant Baldi during his tenure as the head of RERA,” Gupta said, adding he has no connection with the project.
“I cleared my position to Secretary (energy) Rakesh Kanwar, who will inform the CM. I also spoke to former CM Jai Ram Thakur who told me to put my side before the public,” said Gupta, who was given the charge of officiating Chief Secretary on October 1 last year. Gupta said that he paid Rs 1.38 crore from his own personal funds and have all the necessary documents and permissions . He said he assumed Chief Secretary’s office only on October 1, and files related to the Chester Hills project came to him only after that, making any linkage between the two “completely unfounded”.
LoP Thakur, meanwhile, questioned CM Sukhu’s stance on the issue. “We simply do not believe that the CM is unaware of this … The CM is completely compromised …,” Thakur said.
