Bill in Lok Sabha to merge Daman and Diu, Dadra and Nagar Haveli

Reddy said, “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 UTs of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman Diu into a single UT.”

The two UTs in question are located along the western coast near Gujarat. The decision has been attributed to a need for a more efficient administration. Both the Union Territories, for instance, have separate budgets and different secretariats even though they are just 35 km apart. Dadra and Nagar Haveli has only one district and Daman and Diu has two.

The merged UT will be called Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.

Both UTs are former Portuguese colonies, which were liberated after Independence. Thereafter, Daman and Diu was part of the UT of Goa, Daman and Diu till 1987. When Goa got statehood in 1987, Daman and Diu was made a separate UT.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli was occupied by the Portuguese in June 1783. Residents of Dadra and Nagar Haveli liberated themselves from the Portuguese on August 2, 1954. From 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 rest of the country and made a Union Territory.

The Bill stipulates the sanction of two seats to the Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu in the Lok Sabha. The Bombay High Court shall continue to extend its jurisdiction to the Union territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu.