The Union Territories of Daman and Diu, and Dadra and Nagar Haveli will be merged into one and a Bill to this effect will be tabled in Parliament next week, Union Minister Arjun Meghwal said in the Lok Sabha on November 22.

The move comes three months after Jammu and Kashmir was bifurcated into two UTs - Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh. On August 5, the central government had announced the abrogation of the special status given to Jammu and Kashmir under Article 370 and its bifurcation into two UTs.

The country currently has nine UTs 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.

The Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill, 2019, is part of the proposed government business for the next week, Meghwal said.

Daman and Diu

Along with Goa, Daman and Diu was a colony held by the Portuguese even after Independence. In 1961, it was made an integral part of India.

After conferring statehood to Goa on 30 May, 1987, Daman and Diu was made a separate Union Territory.

Daman lies about 193 km away from Mumbai. It is bound on the east by Gujarat, on the west by the Arabian Sea, on the north by the Kolak river and on the south by Kalai river. The neighbouring district of Daman is Valsad in Gujarat.

Diu is an island connected by two bridges. The neighbouring district of Diu is Junagadh of Gujarat.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli

Dadra and Nagar Haveli is a predominantly rural area with about 79 per cent tribal population.

It has an area of 491 sq km and is surrounded by Gujarat and Maharashtra.

The Portuguese ruled this territory until its liberation by the people on August 2, 1954. From 1954 till 1961, the territory functioned almost independently by what was known as ‘Free Dadra and Nagar Haveli Administration’.

The territory was merged with the Indian Union on August 11, 1961, and since then, is being administered by the Government of India as a Union Territory.

After the liberation of the territory from Portuguese rule, a Varishtha Panchayat was working as an advisory body of the administration. This was dissolved in August 1989, and a Pradesh Council for Dadra & Nagar Haveli District Panchayat and 11 Village Panchayats were constituted as per constitutional amendments at all India level.

Benefits of the merger

Officials said the merger of the two UTs, located along the western coast near Gujarat, will be done for better administration and check duplications of various work.

So far, both the UTs have separate budgets and different secretariats even though they are just 35 km apart.

Dadra and Nagar Haveli has just one district while Daman and Diu has two.

The merged UT is likely to be named as Dadra, Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu and its headquarters could be Daman and Diu.

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