New Delhi: With the road clear ahead for the Centre after the annulment of Article 370 of the Constitution, that gave the state of Jammu and Kashmir a special status – and bifurcated the state into two separate union territories according to the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Bill, 2019. The total number of centrally administrated territories in the country will now go up to nine.
Read | Kashmir’s special status (Article 370) goes; J&K, Ladakh become UTs
Out of the total nine, Puducherry and Delhi have their own legislatures – exactly what is being planned for the Jammu and Kashmir section as per the Reorganisation Bill, 2019. The five remaining Union Territories, namely Chandigarh, Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman and Diu, Lakshadweep and Andaman and Nicobar Islands are ruled directly by the Centre. Ladakh, the second under the Reorganisation Bill, will be in this second category.
Read | With the removal of Article 370, what has Jammu and Kashmir lost?
What exactly is a Union Territory?
A union territory is an administrative division governed directly by the union government.
What is UT with a legislature?
These are Union Territories which have a partial statehood status, and this have a legislature and a Lieutenant Governor. Such UTs have an elected chief minister and a council of ministers. Lieutenant Governor is a representative of the President in the territory and acts on the aid and recommendation of the Council of Ministers but he does not need the approval of the Council of Ministers on every matter. In case of Delhi, the government exercises no power in the domain of land, law, and police. The LG has full powers to decide on these matters.
What is UT without legislature?
These are Union Territories that do not have a chief minister and are ruled directly by the Union government through the L-G who runs the day to day administration through his team of advisers.
