Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram have no local self-government at all.

They have their own traditional or statutory local governance systems (like village councils or District Councils); they are simply exempt from the specific Part IX panchayat framework unless they choose to adopt it.

The exemption for tribal and Scheduled Areas is permanent and unchangeable.

Parliament can, by ordinary law, extend Part IX's panchayat provisions to these areas with modifications, and such a law isn't even treated as a constitutional amendment.

Darjeeling has no elected local government because of this Article.

Darjeeling's hill areas have the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, a specific elected body whose powers this Article protects rather than removes.

The Constitution of India

Article 243M

Part not to apply to certain areas

(1) Nothing in this Part shall apply to the Scheduled Areas referred to in clause (1), and the tribal areas referred to in clause (2), of article 244.§

(2) Nothing in this Part shall apply to —§

(a) the States of Nagaland, Meghalaya and Mizoram;§

(b) the hill areas in the State of Manipur for which District Councils exist under any law for the time being in force.§

(3) Nothing in this Part —§

(a) relating to Panchayats at the district level shall apply to the hill areas of the District of Darjeeling in the State of West Bengal for which Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council exists under any law for the time being in force;§

(b) shall be construed to affect the functions and powers of the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council constituted under such law.§

(3A) Nothing in article 243D, relating to reservation of seats for the Scheduled Castes, shall apply to the State of Arunachal Pradesh.§

(4) Notwithstanding anything in this Constitution, —§

(a) the Legislature of a State referred to in subclause (a) of clause (2) may, by law, extend this part to that State, except the areas, if any, referred to in clause (1), if the Legislative Assembly of that State passes a resolution to that effect by a majority of the total membership of that House and by a majority of not less than two-thirds of the members of that House present and voting;§

(b) Parliament may, by law, extend the provisions of this Part to the Scheduled Areas and the tribal areas referred to in clause (1) subject to such exceptions and modifications as may be specified in such law, and no such law shall be deemed to be an amendment of this Constitution for the purposes of article 368.§

Why this exists

Part IX, introduced by the 73rd Amendment (1992), created a uniform three-tier panchayat system across India. But India's northeastern hill states and tribal regions already had their own customary self-governance institutions—like village councils under tribal law, or Autonomous District Councils under the Sixth Schedule—that predated and differed from the panchayat model. Article 243M was added to respect these existing arrangements instead of forcing a one-size-fits-all system, while still leaving flexibility for these areas to opt into the panchayat framework later if they choose.

Common misconceptions

Myth: Nagaland, Meghalaya, and Mizoram have no local self-government at all.
Fact: They have their own traditional or statutory local governance systems (like village councils or District Councils); they are simply exempt from the specific Part IX panchayat framework unless they choose to adopt it.
Myth: The exemption for tribal and Scheduled Areas is permanent and unchangeable.
Fact: Parliament can, by ordinary law, extend Part IX's panchayat provisions to these areas with modifications, and such a law isn't even treated as a constitutional amendment.
Myth: Darjeeling has no elected local government because of this Article.
Fact: Darjeeling's hill areas have the Darjeeling Gorkha Hill Council, a specific elected body whose powers this Article protects rather than removes.