Himachal Pradesh Chief Minister Sukhvinder Singh Sukhu on Wednesday, 15 July 2026, launched a sharp political attack on the Bharatiya Janata Party, alleging that the previous BJP government in the state had transferred 5,000 bigha of prime land in the Nalagarh-Baddi industrial belt to large industrialists for a mere Rs 1 crore — without charging any registration fee — while ordinary citizens are required to pay full stamp duty and registration charges for their own property transactions.

Context

Posting in Hindi on his official X account, CM Sukhu wrote: 'प्रदेश की संपदा लुटाने वालों को जनता कभी नहीं भूलती' ('The public never forgets those who plunder the state's wealth'). He alleged that the BJP would 'never be elected again' by the people of Himachal Pradesh over the land deal. The post, accompanied by a video, is directed at the BJP-led government that held power in the state from 2017 to 2022 under former Chief Minister Jai Ram Thakur.

Sukhu further claimed that if the Nalagarh-Baddi land were valued today, it would be worth 'thousands of crores of rupees' — a pointed contrast to the alleged Rs 1 crore transfer price. These are allegations made by the Chief Minister and have not been independently verified.

Policy Backdrop

The Baddi-Barotiwala-Nalagarh (BBN) industrial corridor in Solan district is one of Himachal Pradesh's most significant economic zones, developed as a major pharmaceutical and manufacturing hub since the early 2000s. Large-scale industrial land allotments in the region were actively promoted under the state's industrial policy during successive governments, including the BJP-led administration of 2003–2008.

Accusations of undervalued land transfers to private industrialists have been a recurring feature of inter-party politics in Himachal Pradesh following every change of government. Both the Congress and the BJP have traded such allegations since the rapid industrialisation of the Baddi region began two decades ago.

Stakeholders and Impact

The allegations directly concern large industrialists who received land allotments in the Nalagarh-Baddi belt, as well as local landowners and residents who argue that state resources were transferred at below-market rates. For common citizens, CM Sukhu's framing — that ordinary people pay full registration fees while powerful industrialists allegedly received land free of such charges — is designed to highlight what he characterises as preferential treatment by the previous government.

The Indian National Congress government under Sukhu has positioned itself as a corrective to such practices since coming to power in December 2022. Any formal audit or inquiry into the allotments could have significant legal and financial implications for the parties involved.

What's Next

Political observers will watch whether CM Sukhu's public remarks are followed by a formal state government audit or judicial inquiry into past industrial land allotments in the BBN corridor. With Himachal Pradesh assembly elections on the horizon, the issue of land and natural resource governance is likely to remain a central flashpoint between the ruling Congress and the BJP. The BJP is yet to formally respond to these specific allegations.