In the Republic of India, a lieutenant governor is the constitutional head of five of the eight union territories. They rank 11th in the order of precedence in India. The lieutenant governor is appointed by the President of India for a term of five years, and holds office at the President's pleasure. Since the union territories of Delhi, Jammu and Kashmir and Puducherry have a measure of self-government with an elected legislature and council of ministers, the role of the lieutenant governor there is mostly a ceremonial one, akin to that of a state's governor. In Andaman and Nicobar Islands and Ladakh however, the lieutenant governor holds more power, being both the head of state and head of government
The other three union territoriesâÂÂChandigarh; Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu; and LakshadweepâÂÂare governed by an administrator. Unlike the lieutenant governors of other territories, they are usually drawn from the retired officer from Indian Armed Forces, Indian Administrative Service (IAS) or Indian Police Service (IPS). Since 1985 the Governor of Punjab has also been the ex-officio Administrator of Chandigarh.
Praful Khoda Patel, till date, is the only administrator of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu who is not an armed forces officer or a civil servant (i.e. IAS or IPS), rather a politician. He was also given the additional charge of Lakshadweep after the death of Dineshwar Sharma.
âÂÂI ..... (name of the lieutenant governor/administrator), do swear in the name of God/solemnly affirm that I will faithfully execute the office of Lieutenant Governor/Administrator (or discharge the functions of the Lieutenant Governor/Administrator) of .............(name of the Union Territory) and will to the best of my ability preserve, protect and defend the Constitution and the law and that I will devote myself to the service and well-being of the people of ..â¦â¦â¦(name of the Union Territory).âÂÂ
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