• Composition of the Legislature: Article 239A was added by the 14th Constitutional amendment act, 1962, to enable Parliament to create legislatures for the Union Territories and in pursuance of these powers the parliament enacted the Government of Union Territories Act, 1963.

• It empowered the Parliament to form a legislature with more than 50% nominated members.
• However, a predominantly nominated House may not be able to stand on as per our constitutional ideal of representative democracy. This is the reason why the majority of members of legislative assemblies in Delhi and Puducherry are elected on the basis of universal adult franchise. 
• It should be noted that all the 70 members of the legislative assembly of Delhi are directly elected members whereas 30 members of Puducherry legislative assembly are directly elected and up to three members are nominated to the assembly by the Central government.

• Demand for the State: Delhi and Jammu & Kashmir demand that the Union Territory be transformed into a fully-fledged state for greater independence and federalism.

• Timely elections: Jammu and Kashmir has been kept suspended with no clear date of elections since 2019, it gives supreme power to the centre to interfere in the internal matters of the Union territory and the centre has become a sole governing authority.

• Matter of appointment: Three members can be nominated to the House of Puducherry by the Central government, but it was challenged.

• The Supreme Court in K. Lakshminarayanan vs Union of India, 2019 case held the Union government does not need to consult the State government to nominate members of the Assembly and the nominated members will have the same right to vote as the elected members.

• Arbitrariness in Nomination: Article 80 provides for the nomination of members to the Rajya Sabha. The Article specifies the fields in which they will be nominated.

• The purpose of this nomination is to utilise the expertise of nominated members in discussions.
• However, in the case of nomination to the Puducherry Assembly, no such qualification set out either in Article 239A or the Government of Union Territories Act inviting arbitrariness.

• Conflicting Powers: The power vested in the administrator (Lieutenant Governor) often conflicts or overlaps with the powers of the elected government of UTs having a legislature.

• Government of Union Territories Act and provision under Article 239 AA(4) gives the power to the administrator to express his or her disagreement on matters concerning administration of the UT and refer the matter to the President.
• The President decides on the advice of the Cabinet of Ministers. So, practically, it is the Union government that ultimately decides the dispute.
• Such conflicts have risen in recent years especially the UT of Delhi where conflicts have escalated to open confrontations between the Lt. Governor and the Chief Minister.

• Overlapping Areas: The Government of Union Territories Act, 1963 provides for a Legislative Assembly of Puducherry with a Council of Ministers to govern the Union Territory. Although the legislative assembly of Puducherry is empowered to make laws, the administrator is not bound by the aid and advice of the council of ministers headed by the Chief Minister.
• This creates overlapping of jurisdictions, which also causes conflicts between the union government and the elected government of union territory.

Reforms for Effective Governance in Union Territories

• Practising Cooperative Federalism: The Constitution Bench of the Supreme Court in National Capital Territory of Delhi vs Union of India (2019) had said that the Lt. Governor should not misuse the discretionary power to frustrate the functioning of the elected government and use it only as a last resort. However, this judgement has not been observed in the letter and spirit. Therefore, both the government and Union Territories need to incorporate the ethos of cooperative federalism.
• Application of the Washington DC Model: The Government of India can apply the administrative model of power-sharing between the Federal government and the Federal Territories’ governments in the USA. The institutions of strategic importance like political institutions, defence establishments, etc. may remain under the Union Government, and administration of areas or matters other than these may be devolved to the Government of Union Territories.
• Amendments to the constitution: In order to ensure effective independence for the governments of union territories, there is a dire need for amendments to the legal and constitutional provisions.
• Financial Autonomy: UTs are largely dependent on the central government for their finances, which creates a sense of inequality and imbalance in the governance structure. To address this issue, UTs must be given greater financial autonomy, which will enable them to manage their own finances and make decisions that are in the best interest of their residents.
• Delimitation of Powers: The powers and functions of the UT administration need to be clearly defined and delimited. This will prevent conflicts of interest between the central government and the UT administration and ensure that decisions are taken in a transparent and accountable manner.
• Appointment of Administrators: Appointments of the administrators by the President in case of UTs with legislature should be done based on the broad consensus resulting out of consultation with the concerned Chief Minister. It would ensure smooth functioning of the administration of UT where the council of ministers headed by the CM would work in cooperation and collaboration with the Administrator.

The Union Government must consider the reason why these Union Territories were given a legislature and Council of Ministers. The obvious reason is to fulfil the democratic aspirations of the people of these areas. In this context, the Union Government should take into account the Supreme Court’s observation that although the administration of Union Territories is under the control of the Central Government this does not mean that the Union Territories are not independent in nature.