# Union Territories & Scheduled/Tribal Areas — Fifth & Sixth Schedules (UPSC Polity) Source: https://tracknation.in/story/union-territories-scheduled-tribal-areas-fifth-sixth-schedules-upsc-polity (TrackNation — free UPSC notes with PYQs) > UPSC notes on Union Territory administration (Articles 239-241), Delhi's special Article 239AA status, and the constitutional design for tribal India: the Fifth Schedule's Scheduled Areas (Tribes Advisory Council, Dhebar and Bhuria Commissions) versus the Sixth Schedule's genuinely self-governing Autonomous District and Regional Councils in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram — every Article number and named commission glossed, with a direct Fifth-vs-Sixth Schedule comparison table. ## Union Territories — Origin & the Present Eight 🎯 **Exam priority: Important.** *The Fifth vs Sixth Schedule contrast is one of UPSC's most reliable recurring themes — both 2025 and 2026 Prelims tested Scheduled Areas/tribal administration directly. Learn precisely which four states get the Sixth Schedule (Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram) and why the rest of tribal India instead falls under the very differently-designed Fifth Schedule.* **Article 1** defines India's territory as three categories: **states**, **Union Territories**, and any territory India might acquire later. India currently has **28 states and 8 Union Territories**. Unlike states, which share power with the Centre in a federal relationship, a UT is under the **Centre's direct control** — making UTs a genuine, if small, departure from India's otherwise federal design. ## Union Territories — Origin & the Present Eight - British-era "scheduled districts" (1874) became "chief commissioners' provinces," then **Part C states and Part D territories** after independence, before the **7th Amendment (1956)** and the **States Reorganisation Act (1956)** together recast them as "Union Territories." Several have since been **elevated to full statehood** — Himachal Pradesh, Manipur, Tripura, Mizoram, Arunachal Pradesh and Goa were all once UTs. - UTs get created for varied reasons: **political/administrative** convenience (Delhi, Chandigarh), **cultural distinctiveness** (Puducherry; Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu — former Portuguese/French territories), or **strategic importance** (Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Lakshadweep). Today's eight are Andaman & Nicobar Islands, Delhi, Lakshadweep, Puducherry, Chandigarh — plus three recent ones: **Jammu & Kashmir and Ladakh (2019)**, carved from the former state of J&K (Ladakh given UT status without a legislature over its sparse, difficult terrain; J&K given one, citing the security situation), and **Dadra & Nagar Haveli and Daman & Diu (2020)**, merged from two separate, previously-duplicated administrations into one. ## Administration of Union Territories (Art 239–241) Every UT answers to the President, but the resemblance to a "mini-state" varies sharply depending on whether it has its own legislature. ## Administration of Union Territories (Articles 239–241) - Every UT is run by the **President**, acting through an **Administrator** — styled Lieutenant Governor (Delhi, Puducherry, Andaman & Nicobar, J&K, Ladakh) or plain Administrator (Chandigarh, Lakshadweep, DNH&DD) at the President's discretion. Unlike a state's Governor — a constitutional head in their own right — an Administrator is simply the **President's agent**. The President may even appoint a neighbouring state's Governor to double as a UT's Administrator, in which case they act independently of that state's own Council of Ministers. - Only **three UTs have a legislative assembly and a Chief Minister-led Council of Ministers**: **Puducherry (1963)**, **Delhi (1992)** and **Jammu & Kashmir (2019)**. Even so, **Parliament retains full law-making power over all three lists — including the State List — for every UT**, whether or not it has a local legislature; a local assembly doesn't displace this, it only adds a second, subordinate law-making layer (Puducherry: State + Concurrent List; Delhi: State List minus public order/police/land, + Concurrent List; J&K: State List minus public order/police, + Concurrent List). - For UTs with **no** legislature, the **President can legislate directly by regulation** — a regulation carries the same force as a Parliamentary Act, and can even override one for that territory; Puducherry can also be regulated this way, but only while its assembly is suspended or dissolved. On the judiciary: **Delhi alone has its own High Court** (since 1966); every other UT sits under a neighbouring state's High Court (e.g. DNH&DD under Bombay HC), except J&K and Ladakh, which share one common High Court between them. | **** | **States** | **Union Territories** | | Relationship with Centre | Federal — share power with the Centre | Unitary — under the Centre's direct control | | Autonomy | Have autonomy | No autonomy | | Administrative uniformity | Uniform set-up (Governor everywhere) | No uniformity (LG / Administrator / Chief Commissioner) | | Executive head's status | Governor — a constitutional head in their own right | Administrator — merely an agent of the President | | Parliament's power over the State List | Cannot legislate on it, except in extraordinary circumstances | Can legislate on it freely, always | ## Special Provisions for Delhi (Article 239AA) Delhi is the UT that behaves most like a state — but even here, Parliament and the President keep the final word. ## Special Provisions for Delhi (Article 239AA) - The **69th Amendment (1991)** redesignated Delhi as the **National Capital Territory (NCT)**, renamed its Administrator the **Lieutenant Governor**, and gave it a **70-member, directly-elected Assembly** (elections run by the Election Commission of India) with power over the State and Concurrent Lists — except **public order, police and land**, which stay with Parliament, whose laws prevail over the Assembly's regardless. - The Council of Ministers is capped at **10% of Assembly strength — 7 total** (1 Chief Minister + 6 others). Unusually, the **Chief Minister is appointed by the President, not the LG**; other ministers are appointed by the President on the CM's advice. Ministers hold office at the **President's pleasure**, yet the Council is **collectively responsible to the Assembly**. - The Council "aids and advises" the LG except where the LG must act in discretion; any LG-minister disagreement goes to the **President** for a binding decision. If Delhi's constitutional machinery breaks down, **Article 239AB** lets the President suspend these provisions and take over directly — a near-exact NCT parallel to **Article 356's** President's Rule in a state. The LG may also promulgate **ordinances** during the Assembly's recess (approval needed within 6 weeks of reassembly) — but never with the Assembly dissolved or suspended, and never without the President's prior permission. - The five UTs with no legislature (Andaman & Nicobar, Chandigarh, DNH&DD, Lakshadweep, Ladakh) instead get a **Home Minister's Advisory Committee (HMAC)** or **Administrator's Advisory Committee (AAC)** — chaired by the Union Home Minister or the local Administrator respectively, including MPs and local-body representatives, to discuss the UT's social/economic development. ## Fifth Schedule — Scheduled Areas Beyond the states-vs-UTs distinction, the Constitution runs an entirely separate special-administration track for tribal India — split into two very differently-designed Schedules. ## Fifth Schedule — Scheduled Areas (Article 244) - The Fifth Schedule — sometimes called **"a constitution within a constitution"** — governs Scheduled Areas in every tribal-majority state *except* Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram (which instead get the Sixth Schedule). **10 states currently have Scheduled Areas**: Andhra Pradesh, Telangana, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Gujarat, Himachal Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh, Maharashtra, Odisha and Rajasthan. The **President** declares (and can redraw or rescind) a Scheduled Area, consulting the state's Governor; the well-established — though not literally constitutionally spelt-out — criteria are: a preponderant tribal population, a compact and reasonably-sized area, a viable administrative unit (district/block/taluk), and comparative economic backwardness. - **Executive power:** the state administers Scheduled Areas as normal, but the **Governor** carries a special duty — an annual (or on-demand) report to the President — while the **Centre** can directly instruct the state on how to administer these areas. Every state with Scheduled Areas must set up a **Tribes Advisory Council** — **20 members**, three-fourths of them Scheduled Tribe MLAs — to advise on ST welfare (a similar council may be created even in a state with STs but no Scheduled Areas, if the President so directs). - The **Governor** may direct that a given Parliamentary or state law simply won't apply to a Scheduled Area, or apply only with modifications, and may separately make **regulations** (after consulting the Tribes Advisory Council, with the President's assent) restricting land transfer among/by tribals, regulating land allotment, or controlling money-lending to tribals — regulations powerful enough to even repeal or amend an existing Act for that area. - The Constitution requires the President to appoint a **commission on Scheduled Area administration and ST welfare** at least once every **10 years** from the Constitution's commencement (and any time earlier too). The first — the **Dhebar Commission** — was appointed in 1960, reporting in 1961; the second, the **Bhuria Commission**, followed only in 2002 (reporting 2004) — a four-decade gap despite the "at least once a decade" design. ## Sixth Schedule — Tribal Areas & Autonomous Districts The Sixth Schedule takes an almost opposite approach — not protective administration from above, but genuine self-rule from within. ## Sixth Schedule — Tribal Areas & Autonomous Districts (Article 244, 244A) - Confined to **Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram** — the four states organise **10 tribal areas as Autonomous Districts** (e.g. Assam's Karbi Anglong and Bodoland Territorial Areas; Meghalaya's Khasi, Jaintia and Garo Hills; Tripura's single Tribal Areas District; Mizoram's Chakma, Mara and Lai Districts). The rationale is genuinely different from the Fifth Schedule: many of these communities governed themselves before the British arrived, so the framers built in real **self-rule** rather than protective oversight — though the districts still remain within the concerned state's overall executive authority, not outside it. - The **Governor** can reorganise Autonomous Districts at will (area, name, boundaries) and split one into separate **Autonomous Regions** if it holds multiple tribes. Each district runs its own **District Council** — **30 members**: **4 Governor-nominated** (serving at pleasure) plus **26 directly elected** (5-year term); each Autonomous Region separately elects its own Regional Council too. - District/Regional Councils can **legislate** on land, forests, canal water, shifting cultivation ("jhum"), village administration, inheritance, marriage/divorce and social customs — subject to the **Governor's assent** — and can run their own **village courts** for tribal disputes (High Court jurisdiction over these is Governor-specified), plus manage schools, dispensaries, markets and roads, and even assess/collect land revenue and specified taxes. As in Scheduled Areas, a Parliamentary/state law may simply not apply here, or apply only with modification. The Governor may appoint a commission to examine a Council's administration, and can **dissolve** a District or Regional Council on that commission's recommendation. ## Fifth vs Sixth Schedule & Why UPSC Asks This Put side by side, the two Schedules reveal a single underlying design choice: protect tribal land and custom from outside encroachment (Fifth Schedule) versus hand tribal communities genuine local government of their own (Sixth Schedule). ## Fifth Schedule vs Sixth Schedule | **** | **Fifth Schedule** | **Sixth Schedule** | | Where it applies | 10 states (excludes Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram) | Only Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura, Mizoram | | Core design | Protective administration — Governor/President safeguard tribal land and custom from outside laws | Genuine self-rule — an elected District Council legislates and governs directly | | Key institution | Tribes Advisory Council (advisory only, 20 members) | District/Regional Council (a real legislature-cum-government, 30 members) | | Can it make laws? | No — only the Governor can disapply/modify outside laws via regulation | Yes — District/Regional Councils legislate on specified local subjects directly | | Periodic review | President-appointed commission at least every 10 years (Dhebar 1960-61, Bhuria 2002-04) | Governor may appoint a commission at any time; can dissolve a Council on its recommendation | ## Further Reading - Standard NCERT-level texts and reference books on the Indian Constitution and Polity (any UPSC reading list). - The Constitution of India (Bare Act) — Articles 239–242 (Union Territories) and 244–244A (Scheduled and Tribal Areas), plus the Fifth and Sixth Schedules. ## Why UPSC Asks This - Fifth vs Sixth Schedule is a near-annual Prelims theme — 2025 and 2026 both tested Scheduled Area administration directly; know exactly which four states get the Sixth Schedule and why the rest don't. - Delhi's Article 239AA — the CM appointed by the President (not the LG), the 10%/7-member ministry cap, and the Article 239AB "President's Rule equivalent" — is a frequently tested contrast with ordinary state government. - The Tribes Advisory Council's "20 members, three-fourths ST MLAs" ratio is a classic precise-number trap, easily confused with the District Council's "30 members, 4 nominated + 26 elected." ## Test Yourself: Practice Questions & PYQs Union Territories and Scheduled/Tribal Areas practice — UT administration and Delhi's special status, Fifth Schedule Scheduled Areas, and Sixth Schedule Autonomous Districts. Then Prelims-pattern PYQs mirroring the 2025/26 exam's real focus on this theme. ## Practice Questions **Q1.** India currently has how many states and Union Territories respectively? - (a) 28 states and 8 Union Territories - (b) 28 states and 9 Union Territories - (c) 29 states and 7 Union Territories - (d) 27 states and 8 Union Territories **Answer: (a)** — 28 states and 8 Union Territories, per Article 1's three-category territorial classification. **Q2.** Union Territories were first constituted as such in 1956 by: - (a) The 7th Constitutional Amendment Act and the States Reorganisation Act - (b) The 42nd Amendment alone - (c) An ordinary Act of Parliament with no constitutional amendment - (d) The 69th Constitutional Amendment Act **Answer: (a)** — The 7th Amendment (1956) together with the States Reorganisation Act (1956) recast former Part C/D territories as Union Territories. **Q3.** Which of the following Union Territories has a legislative assembly and a Chief Minister? - (a) Chandigarh - (b) Puducherry - (c) Andaman and Nicobar Islands - (d) Lakshadweep **Answer: (b)** — Only Puducherry (1963), Delhi (1992) and Jammu & Kashmir (2019) have a legislative assembly and Chief Minister among the 8 UTs. **Q4.** For a Union Territory WITHOUT its own legislature, who can legislate for it by regulation? - (a) The Chief Justice of India - (b) The Union Home Minister - (c) The Governor of the nearest state - (d) The President **Answer: (d)** — The President can make regulations with the same force as a Parliamentary Act for UTs lacking a legislature. **Q5.** Which Union Territory has its own separate High Court? - (a) Lakshadweep - (b) Chandigarh - (c) Delhi - (d) Puducherry **Answer: (c)** — Delhi alone (since 1966) has its own High Court; the others fall under a neighbouring state's High Court, except J&K/Ladakh, which share one. **Q6.** Under Article 239AA, the Chief Minister of the National Capital Territory of Delhi is appointed by: - (a) The President - (b) The Lieutenant Governor - (c) The Prime Minister - (d) The Speaker of the Delhi Assembly **Answer: (a)** — Unusually, the CM is appointed by the President directly, not the LG, though other ministers are appointed on the CM's advice. **Q7.** The Delhi Legislative Assembly cannot make laws on which of the following State List subjects? - (a) Agriculture - (b) Education - (c) Health - (d) Public order, police and land **Answer: (d)** — These three subjects are carved out and remain with Parliament even though the rest of the State List (plus Concurrent List) is within Delhi Assembly's power. **Q8.** The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution does NOT apply to which of the following states (which instead fall under the Sixth Schedule)? - (a) Rajasthan and Gujarat - (b) Madhya Pradesh and Odisha - (c) Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram - (d) Andhra Pradesh and Telangana **Answer: (c)** — These four north-eastern states are governed by the Sixth Schedule instead; the Fifth Schedule applies to Scheduled Areas in the other tribal-majority states. **Q9.** A Tribes Advisory Council under the Fifth Schedule consists of how many members, and what fraction must be Scheduled Tribe MLAs? - (a) 30 members, four-fifths - (b) 20 members, three-fourths - (c) 25 members, two-thirds - (d) 15 members, one-half **Answer: (b)** — 20 members total, with three-fourths (15) required to be Scheduled Tribe members of the state Legislative Assembly. **Q10.** The first commission on the administration of Scheduled Areas and welfare of Scheduled Tribes was headed by: - (a) Balwantrai Mehta - (b) U.N. Dhebar - (c) B.N. Rau - (d) Dilip Singh Bhuria **Answer: (b)** — The Dhebar Commission (appointed 1960, reported 1961) was the first; the Bhuria Commission followed in 2002, reporting 2004. **Q11.** Under the Sixth Schedule, a District Council consists of 30 members composed as: - (a) 4 nominated by the Governor and 26 directly elected - (b) 20 nominated and 10 elected - (c) 15 nominated and 15 elected - (d) All 30 directly elected, none nominated **Answer: (a)** — 4 Governor-nominated members (serving at pleasure) plus 26 directly elected members (5-year term) make up a District Council. **Q12.** Which of the following is a genuine difference between the Fifth and Sixth Schedules? - (a) Only the Sixth Schedule gives tribal areas a body that can actually make laws (the District/Regional Council) - (b) Both Schedules use an identical Tribes Advisory Council mechanism - (c) Only the Fifth Schedule applies to any part of India - (d) The Sixth Schedule applies to more states than the Fifth **Answer: (a)** — The Sixth Schedule's District/Regional Councils are genuine legislatures for specified subjects; the Fifth Schedule's Tribes Advisory Council is purely advisory. ### UPSC Previous Year Questions (PYQs) *Pattern: which UTs have a legislature; Delhi's Article 239AA specifics (CM appointment, excluded subjects); Fifth vs Sixth Schedule state coverage (a frequent point-of-confusion trap); Tribes Advisory Council vs District Council composition; Governor's regulation-making and assent powers in both Schedules.* **Q13.** Consider the following statements: (1) The Fifth Schedule of the Constitution applies to Scheduled Areas in Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram. (2) The Sixth Schedule provides for Autonomous District and Regional Councils with law-making powers on specified subjects. Which of the statements given above is/are correct? - (a) 2 only - (b) Neither 1 nor 2 - (c) 1 only - (d) Both 1 and 2 **Answer: (a)** — Statement 1 is wrong — those four states fall under the SIXTH Schedule, not the Fifth. Statement 2 is correct. **Q14.** With reference to the Union Territory of Delhi, which of the following statements is/are correct? (1) Its Legislative Assembly can make laws on the Concurrent List. (2) The Council of Ministers is collectively responsible to the Legislative Assembly. Select the correct answer: - (a) 2 only - (b) 1 only - (c) Both 1 and 2 - (d) Neither 1 nor 2 **Answer: (c)** — Both are correct — the Assembly has Concurrent List power (alongside most of the State List), and the Council answers collectively to it despite ministers holding office at the President's pleasure. **Q15.** The Union Territories of Jammu and Kashmir, and Ladakh, were created in the year: - (a) 2014 - (b) 2020 - (c) 2019 - (d) 1956 **Answer: (c)** — Both were carved out of the former state of Jammu and Kashmir in 2019, under the Jammu and Kashmir Reorganisation Act. **Q16.** Which Article of the Constitution deals with the administration of Scheduled Areas and Tribal Areas? - (a) Article 280 - (b) Article 371 - (c) Article 239 - (d) Article 244 **Answer: (d)** — Article 244 (Part X) is the umbrella provision; 244A separately covers the possibility of an autonomous state within Assam's tribal areas. **Q17.** In how many north-eastern states does the Sixth Schedule apply, and how many Autonomous Districts do they together contain? - (a) 3 states, 8 Autonomous Districts - (b) 5 states, 12 Autonomous Districts - (c) 4 states, 10 Autonomous Districts - (d) 4 states, 6 Autonomous Districts **Answer: (c)** — Assam, Meghalaya, Tripura and Mizoram together contain 10 Autonomous Districts under the Sixth Schedule. **Q18.** Regulations made by a Governor for a Scheduled Area under the Fifth Schedule require: - (a) Ratification by the state legislature only - (b) The assent of the President - (c) No approval of any kind - (d) Approval of the Tribes Advisory Council alone, with no other assent needed **Answer: (b)** — Such regulations are made after consulting the Tribes Advisory Council, but require the President's assent to take effect. **Q19.** Which of the following best distinguishes an Administrator of a Union Territory from a Governor of a state? - (a) An Administrator is directly elected while a Governor is appointed - (b) An Administrator is an agent of the President; a Governor is a constitutional head in their own right - (c) There is no meaningful difference between the two - (d) An Administrator has more power than a Governor in every respect **Answer: (b)** — This is the core states-vs-UTs distinction — an Administrator merely represents the President, unlike a Governor's independent constitutional status. **Q20.** The 69th Constitutional Amendment Act, 1991: - (a) Created the Union Territory of Ladakh - (b) Gave Delhi special status as the National Capital Territory with an Assembly and Council of Ministers - (c) Established the Sixth Schedule - (d) Merged Dadra and Nagar Haveli with Daman and Diu **Answer: (b)** — The 69th Amendment (1991) inserted Article 239AA, redesignating Delhi as the NCT with its own Assembly and Council of Ministers. ### Mains Practice Questions Use these to frame full-length answers. You don't have to answer one exactly — they show the angles UPSC tests, so let them guide which points you cover. - Distinguish the administrative design of the Fifth Schedule from that of the Sixth Schedule. - Examine the special constitutional provisions applicable to the National Capital Territory of Delhi under Article 239AA. - How does Parliament's law-making power over a Union Territory differ depending on whether it has its own legislature? - Discuss the composition and functions of the Tribes Advisory Council and the District Council. - Trace the reasons given by the government for the 2019 reorganisation of Jammu & Kashmir and the 2020 merger of Dadra & Nagar Haveli with Daman & Diu. - What is the constitutional requirement for periodic review of Scheduled Area administration, and how has it actually been followed?