Speed Post News Network
New Delhi : The Parliament passed the Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu (Merger of Union Territories) Bill, 2019, on December 3, 2019. Union Minister of State for Home Affairs G Kishan Reddy speaking in the Rajya Sabha, and said that the bill has been brought to provide for merger of union territories of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, for fruitful utilization of manpower, improve administrative efficiency, reduce administrative expenditure, improve service delivery and facilitate better monitoring of schemes. It would also ensure better cadre management of employees, he added.
The new entity would be called the UT of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu and would be under the jurisdiction of the Bombay High Court, Reddy said. He said that there will be no change in administration and service conditions and reservation. Similarly, there will be no change in the status of Group III and IV employees. The merger would bring about administrative convenience, speedy development and effective implementation of central and state government schemes, he said, according to a PIB release.
Informing about the rationale behind bringing the amendment, Reddy said that 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.
Having two separate constitutional and administrative entities in both the Union territories leads to lot of duplicity, inefficiency and wasteful expenditure. Further, this also causes unnecessary financial burden on the Government. That apart, there are various challenges in cadre management and career progression of employees. Availability of more officers and infrastructure would help in more efficient implementation of flagship schemes of the government, Reddy said. The bill was earlier passed by Lok Sabha on November 27, 2019.