The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill, 2019

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For the use of Members of Parliament NOT FOR PUBLICATION

No.29/LN/Ref./November/2019

THE DADRA AND NAGAR HAVELI AND DAMAN AND DIU (MERGER OF UNION TERRITORIES) BILL, 2019

Prepared by Shri Sai Dinesh Shetty, Research Officer (7620647498) Lok Sabha Secretariat under the supervision of Smt Asha Jaipal Singh, Joint Director (9711934250), Shri G. Ranga Rao, Director (9818166360) and Shri R.C. Tiwari, Joint Secretary (9013502747).

The Legislative Note is for personal use of the Members in the discharge of their Parliamentary duties, and is not for publication. This Service is not to be quoted as the source of information as it is based on the sources indicated at the end/in the context THE DADRA AND NAGAR HAVELI AND DAMAN AND DIU (MERGER OF UNION TERRITORIES) BILL, 2019

INTRODUCTION:

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu are presently two separate Union Territories having many similarities, including their location in the western region of India. Both these Union Territories were under the Portuguese rule for a long time. Dadra and Nagar Haveli came under the Portuguese occupation in 1783. The Residents of Dadra and Nagar Haveli got liberated themselves from the Portuguese rule in 1954 and until 1961 it was administered by a citizen's council called the Varishta Panchayat of Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli. In 1961, it was merged with the Republic of India and made a part of the then Union Territory of Goa and rechristened as the Union Territory of Goa, Daman and Diu. When Goa became a State of the Union in 1987, Daman and Diu became a separate Union Territory.

In accordance with the Union Government’s objective of "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance", considering small population and limited geographical area of both the Union Territories, the Bill seeks to merge the two entities into a single Union Territory to be known as the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu comprising the territory of the existing two Union Territories into one.

Currently, there are nine Union Territories after the creation of the UTs of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. With the merger of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli, the number of UTs will come down to eight 1.

SALIENT FEATURES OF THE BILL2:

The Bill provides for merger of Union Territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu and for matters connected therewith.

The Bill provides that there shall be allocated two seats to the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in Lok Sabha. Hence, the First

1 https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/govt-introduces-bill-to-merge-daman-and-diu-dadra-and-nagar- haveli-in-lok-sabha/article30086135.ece# 2 For Objects and Reasons of the Bill, please see Annexure.

Schedule to the Representation of the People Act, 1950 shall be deemed to be amended accordingly.

Every sitting member of House of the People representing any parliamentary constituency will be deemed to have been elected to that House by that constituency and the term of office of such members shall remain unaltered.

The High Court of Bombay shall continue to have jurisdiction over the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

The Assets and Liabilities of the UTs viz. all land and all stores, articles and other goods held by the existing Union territories, shall vest in the merged UT.

The members of each of the All India Services borne on the existing Union Territories cadre shall continue to be in the cadre of the same service of the existing Union Territory in which they stand allocated before the appointed day.

Every person employed in connection with the affairs of the existing Union Territories shall continue to serve in connection with the affairs of the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu; and be deemed to be provisionally allotted to serve in connection with the affairs of the merged UT.

All laws which immediately before the appointed day extend to, or are in force, in the existing Union Territories shall, on and from the appointed day, continue to be in force in those areas in respect of which they were in force immediately before that day.

Any court, tribunal or authority required or empowered to enforce any law extended to the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu may, for the purpose of facilitating its application in relation to the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, construe the law in such manner, without affecting the substance, as may be necessary or proper in regard to the matter before the court, tribunal or authority.

For the purpose of facilitating the application of any law in relation to the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, the Central Government may, before the expiration of two years from the appointed day, by order, make such adaptations and modifications of the law, whether by way of repeal or amendment, as may be necessary or expedient, and thereupon every such law shall have effect subject to the adaptations and modifications so made until altered, repealed or amended by a competent Legislature or other competent authority.

BENEFITS OF THE BILL:

Better delivery of services to the citizens of both Union territories by improving efficiency and reduction in paper work; Reduction in administrative expenditure; Bringing uniformity in policies and schemes; Better monitoring of schemes and projects; Better management of cadres of various employees.

REFERENCES:

1. The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill, 2019 http://164.100.47.4/BillsTexts/LSBillTexts/PassedLoksabha/366-C_2019_LS_Eng.pdf

2. https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/news/govt-introduces-bill-to-merge-daman-and-diu- dadra-and-nagar-haveli-in-lok-sabha/article30086135.ece#

Annexure

STATEMENT OF OBJECTS AND REASONS

The Union territories of Daman and Diu and the Dadra and Nagar Haveli are located in western region of the country. Both Union territories were under the Portuguese rule for a long time. They were liberated from Portuguese rule in December, 1961. Since 1961 to 1987, the Daman and Diu were part of the Union territory of Goa, Daman and Diu. In 1987, when Goa got statehood, Daman and Diu were made a separate Union territory. The Dadra and Nagar Haveli was occupied by the Portuguese in June, 1783. Residents of Dadra and Nagar Haveli got liberated themselves from the Portuguese rule on the 2nd August, 1954. Since, 1954 to 1961, the territory was administered by a citizen's council called the Varishta Panchayat of Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli. In 1961, it was merged with the Republic of India and made a Union territory.

2. The Union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu share a lot in terms of administrative set up, history, language and culture. The Secretaries to various Departments, Chief of Police and Chief Conservator of Forest of the both Union territories are common and the officers of All-India Services posted by the Ministries of Home Affairs, Environment and Forests serve both these territories as per their work allocation. Further, the policies and development schemes in various sectors including Tourism, Industries, Education, Information Technology are similar.

3. Besides these, there are two secretariats and parallel departments which consume infrastructure and manpower in each Union territory. The Administrator, Secretaries, and Heads of certain departments functions in both the Union territories on alternate days affecting their availability to people and monitoring functioning of subordinate staff. The subordinate employees of both the Union territories are separate. Further, various departments of the Government of India have to co-ordinate with both the Union territories separately, causing duplication of works.

4. Having two separate constitutional and administrative entities in both the Union territories leads to lot of duplicacy, inefficiency and wasteful expenditure. Further, this also causes unnecessary financial burden on the Government. Besides these, there are various challenges for cadre management and career progression of employees.

5. In view of the policy of the Government to have "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance", considering small population and limited geographical area of both the Union territories and to use the services of officers efficiently, it has been decided to merge the Union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu into a single Union territory. Hence, a Bill, namely, the Union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union territories) Bill, 2019 is proposed for that purpose.

6. The Bill, inter alia, provides for,— (a) better delivery of services to the citizens of both Union territories by improving efficiency and reduction in paper work; (b) reduction in administrative expenditure; (c) bringing uniformity in policies and schemes; (d) better monitoring of schemes and projects; (e) better management of cadres of various employees.

7. The Bill seeks to achieve the aforesaid objectives.

NEW DELHI; AMIT SHAH. The 21st November, 2019.