Application of Part IX-A to Union Territories and Exempted Areas (Articles 243ZB-243ZC)

Part IX-A exemptions, together with its application to Union Territories, are governed by two linking provisions — Articles 243ZB and 243ZC — that decide where India's constitutional municipal governance framework actually operates. Part IX-A, inserted by the 74th Amendment, was not written to apply uniformly and automatically everywhere; these two articles adapt it for Union Territories and exclude it from certain other areas.

Article 243ZB: Extending Part IX-A to Union Territories

Article 243ZB states that the provisions of Part IX-A apply to Union Territories, but with two textual substitutions needed because Union Territories are not full states. Wherever Part IX-A refers to the "Governor of a State," that reference is read, in a Union Territory, as a reference to the Administrator of the Union Territory appointed under Article 239. Wherever it refers to the "Legislature or the Legislative Assembly of a State," that reference is read, for a Union Territory that has its own Legislative Assembly, as a reference to that Assembly. A proviso then gives the President a further, more flexible power: by public notification, the President may direct that Part IX-A's provisions apply to any Union Territory (or part of one) subject to such exceptions and modifications as the notification itself specifies. This gives the Union government room to phase in or adapt municipal governance in Union Territories rather than importing the state-level scheme wholesale. The design mirrors Article 243L, which performs the identical adaptation for panchayats under Part IX — read together, the two articles show that both tiers of local self-government follow the same template when extended to Union Territories.

Article 243ZC: Areas Where Part IX-A Does Not Apply

Article 243ZC is titled "Part not to apply to certain areas" — the exact title Article 243M carries for panchayats in Part IX. This shared title signals that, just as Part IX is not extended uniformly to every rural area of the country, Part IX-A is not extended uniformly to every urban area either. Certain areas are carved out of the ordinary municipal scheme because they already have their own constitutionally protected local-governance arrangements, such as Scheduled Areas and tribal areas dealt with separately under Article 244, or hill-area councils established under other special laws. The precise areas and the exact terms of exclusion are set out in the article's own text; the underlying design principle is that Part IX-A was drafted as the default urban local-government framework, not as an override of pre-existing special arrangements recognised elsewhere in the Constitution.

Why Two Separate Provisions

Articles 243ZB and 243ZC address two different problems. 243ZB is an inclusion clause — it brings Union Territories, which otherwise sit outside the normal Centre-state framework, into the scope of Part IX-A with the adaptations needed because they have Administrators rather than Governors. 243ZC is an exclusion clause — it keeps Part IX-A from displacing special local-governance arrangements that predate or sit outside the ordinary municipal scheme. Together, they define the territorial reach of Part IX-A precisely, in the same way Articles 243L and 243M jointly define the territorial reach of Part IX for panchayats.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• Article 243ZB applies Part IX-A to Union Territories, substituting "Administrator" for "Governor" and the UT's Legislative Assembly for a State Legislature.
• Article 243ZC, titled "Part not to apply to certain areas," excludes Part IX-A from certain areas, paralleling Article 243M for panchayats.

Mains

• Discuss how Articles 243ZB and 243ZC, alongside their panchayat counterparts 243L and 243M, calibrate the territorial reach of the 73rd and 74th Amendments' local self-government framework.

FAQ

Q1. Does Part IX-A automatically apply to every Union Territory? Not automatically in full — Article 243ZB applies it with the Administrator/Legislative Assembly substitutions, and the President may further notify exceptions and modifications for a Union Territory or part of one.

Q2. What is Article 243ZC about? It is titled "Part not to apply to certain areas" and excludes Part IX-A's municipal framework from certain areas that have separate constitutional or statutory local-governance arrangements.

Q3. Which panchayat-side articles parallel 243ZB and 243ZC? Article 243L (application to Union Territories) and Article 243M (part not to apply to certain areas), which perform the same functions for Part IX.

Q4. Who is substituted for the Governor in a Union Territory under 243ZB? The Administrator of the Union Territory, appointed under Article 239.

Quick Revision

• Article 243ZB — applies Part IX-A to Union Territories (Administrator for Governor; UT Legislative Assembly for State Legislature).
• President may notify exceptions/modifications for a Union Territory under the 243ZB proviso.
• Article 243ZC — "Part not to apply to certain areas"; excludes Part IX-A from specified areas.
• Panchayat parallels: Article 243L and Article 243M in Part IX.

Sources

• The Constitution of India — Article 243ZB, legislative.gov.in
• The Constitution of India — Article 243ZC, legislative.gov.in

Further Reference

For deeper reading on this topic and the wider polity syllabus, these standard works are recommended:

• M. Laxmikanth, Indian Polity (McGraw Hill) — the standard UPSC handbook.
• D.D. Basu, Introduction to the Constitution of India (LexisNexis) — authoritative constitutional-law treatment.
• The Constitution of India — Bare Act — the official text.

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