Merger of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (2020)

DNH Daman Diu merger refers to the unification of two separate Union Territories — Dadra and Nagar Haveli, and Daman and Diu — into a single Union Territory on the map of India in 2020. Until then, the two territories, though administered jointly for many practical purposes, remained constitutionally distinct entities; Parliament merged them through dedicated legislation to remove this duplication. The merger is a useful example of how the Union government can alter the internal territorial arrangement of India without touching the boundary of any state.

Background: Two Union Territories with a Shared History

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu were both former Portuguese possessions on India's west coast, together with Goa. Dadra and Nagar Haveli was constituted as a Union Territory in 1961, while Daman and Diu became a separate Union Territory in 1962, after the liberation of Goa. Unlike Goa, which was granted full statehood in 1987 through the Goa, Daman and Diu Reorganisation Act, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu continued as two small, separately administered Union Territories for decades. Their creation as distinct territories, rather than as parts of neighbouring Gujarat or Maharashtra, reflected — among other reasons — their cultural distinctiveness, a ground Parliament has repeatedly used to justify Union Territory status for small, historically separate regions.

Despite being separate on paper, the two territories functioned almost as one unit in practice. They shared a common Administrator, common Secretaries to various departments, a common Chief of Police, and a common Chief Conservator of Forest. Officers of the All-India Services posted by the Ministries of Home Affairs and Environment and Forests served both territories under a single work allocation. Government policies and development schemes in sectors such as tourism, industries, education and information technology were also largely identical across the two.

Why Parliament Merged the Two Territories

The Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill, 2019, was introduced in Parliament to end this arrangement of parallel but overlapping administrations. The Union government cited several reasons for the merger:

The Bill was passed, and the new, unified Union Territory — named Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu — came into existence in 2020. With this merger, the number of Union Territories in India came down from nine to eight.

Administrative and Constitutional Status

Like Chandigarh and Lakshadweep, the merged Union Territory of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu has no legislative assembly of its own. It is administered by an Administrator appointed by the President rather than by a Lieutenant Governor — a designation reserved for Delhi, Puducherry, Andaman and Nicobar Islands, Jammu and Kashmir and Ladakh.

Because it lacks a legislature, the Union Territory falls within the group of territories for which the President may make regulations under Article 240 of the Constitution "for the peace, progress and good government" of the territory. A regulation made under this power has the same force as an Act of Parliament and can even repeal or amend a parliamentary law in its application to the territory. Parliament, in any case, retains full power to legislate for the Union Territory on any subject in the Union, State or Concurrent Lists, since there is no local legislature to share that power with.

For judicial administration, Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu is placed under the jurisdiction of the Bombay High Court rather than having a High Court of its own — a status shared with several other Union Territories, since Delhi is the only Union Territory with a dedicated High Court of its own.

UPSC Relevance

Prelims

• Years of creation of India's Union Territories, and the year and mechanism of the DNH–Daman and Diu merger (2020)
• The current count and list of eight Union Territories after the merger
• Which High Court exercises jurisdiction over Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu
• The scope of the President's regulation-making power under Article 240

Mains

• GS2: Use this merger as an illustration of Parliament's power to reorganise Union Territories and of the administrative rationale ("Minimum Government, Maximum Governance") behind reducing overlapping structures
• GS2: Compare the constitutional status of Union Territories with and without a legislature, using Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu as an example of the former

FAQ

Q1. When did the merger of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu take place? The two Union Territories were merged into one in 2020, following the passage of the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill, 2019.

Q2. Why were Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu merged? The Union government cited shared administration, duplication of secretariats and departments, inefficiency and wasteful expenditure, and its "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance" policy as the reasons for merging the two small territories.

Q3. Does the merged Union Territory have a legislative assembly? No. Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu has no legislature and is administered by an Administrator appointed by the President.

Q4. Which High Court has jurisdiction over Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu? The Bombay High Court exercises jurisdiction over this Union Territory.

Q5. When were Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu originally created as separate Union Territories? Dadra and Nagar Haveli was created as a Union Territory in 1961, and Daman and Diu in 1962, following their liberation from Portuguese control.

Quick Revision

• Dadra and Nagar Haveli: Union Territory since 1961; Daman and Diu: Union Territory since 1962
• Merged into a single Union Territory in 2020 via the Merger of Union Territories Act, 2019
• Merger reduced India's Union Territories from nine to eight
• No legislative assembly; administered by an Administrator, not a Lieutenant Governor
• Falls under Article 240 for the President's regulation-making power
• Bombay High Court has jurisdiction
• Merger rationale: shared administration, cost reduction, and "Minimum Government, Maximum Governance"

Sources

• The Constitution of India, Article 240 — Legislative Department, Government of India
• India Code — Government of India's repository of Central Acts

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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