Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Merger Bill, 2019

The territories of a nation are always reforming; the division of existing states creates more states, smaller states could be merged into each other, union territories may be declared as states, and states could be made into union territories. A bill has to be passed in the parliament to make such changes in a country. The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Merger bill 2019 is a bill that merges the territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli with Daman and Diu. The bill also amends the first schedule as well.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu

The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu are now a union territory of India. It was formed in 2019 December by merging the Dadra and Nagar Haveli with the Daman and Diu territories. A bill was passed in the parliament, amending the first schedule. This bill was implemented from Republic Day in the year 2020.

This union territory constitutes four different territories of Daman, Dadra, Nagar Haveli, and Diu Island. The states of Maharashtra and Gujarat lie in the neighbourhood of this union territory. Daman is regarded as the capital of this union territory. The current administrator of this union territory is Praful Khoda Patel. The Bombay high court of Maharashtra also functions as the high court for the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu union territory.

Let us learn more about the bill that formed this union territory which also amends the first schedule.

The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu Merger Bill, 2019

Before this bill was passed, Nagar Haveli was a separate union territory, while Daman and Diu were another union territory. The various states and the union territories that are a part of India are stated in the first schedule of the Indian constitution. Hence, as the merger bill merges the few union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and the Daman and Diu into one union territory, the bill amends the first schedule of the Indian constitution. Article 240(1) gives the President of India the right to make regulations for this union territory.

The provisions of the Bill

Previously, when Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu were separate union territories, they were allocated one seat to represent the Lok Sabha, which amends the first schedule. The newly formed union territory, which is the merger of these two old union territories, will be allocated 2 seats as representation in the Lok Sabha. One of the members will come from the Dadra and Nagar Haveli area, while the second member of Lok Sabha will be from the Daman and Diu area. The employees who worked for these separate union territories will be retained and now will work as the employees of the newly formed union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. The President of India will appoint an administrator or lieutenant governor who takes charge of this union territory and manages the administration on behalf of the union government. The current administrator of the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is Praful Khoda Patel.

The union governments could set up advisory Committees to ensure that every person affected by this merger will be treated equally and get fair treatment. Any complaints against the service orders issued can be represented within 3 months from when the notice was ordered or the publication date. The provisions stated above are not applied to the members of Indian Police services, Indian Administrative Services, and the Indian Foreign services. The jurisdiction of the High Court of Bombay will be applied to the union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. The assets and the liabilities like the land and stores, which were separately owned by the previous two union territories, will now be merged and become the assets and liabilities for the new union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu. The laws applied to particular areas of the union territory will continue to be applicable for those respective areas. The current parliament members will continue to serve until the term of their office gets over.

Conclusion

There are currently 28 states and 8 union territories in the country of India. The number of states and union territories keeps increasing and decreasing due to their merging or separation. The newly formed union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is an example of the merging of two union territories. Earlier, Dadra and Nagar Haveli were separate from the Daman and Diu union territory. A bill was passed in 2019 and was implemented on 26 January 2020 to merge them into a single union territory. This bill amends the first schedule of the Indian Constitution.