This Article means all Union territories automatically get elected municipal governments just like states.

It only extends the same legal framework; it does not override the President's power to exempt specific Union territories or areas from these municipal rules altogether.

The administrator and the Legislative Assembly have identical powers under this Article.

The Article distinguishes between the two: the administrator stands in only where there is no Legislative Assembly, while a Union territory with its own Assembly uses that Assembly instead.

The Constitution of India

Article 243ZS

Application to Union territories

The provisions of this Part shall apply to the Union territories and shall, in their application to a Union territory, having no Legislative Assembly as if the references to the Legislature of a State were a reference to the administrator thereof appointed under article 239 and, in relation to a Union territory having a Legislative Assembly, to that Legislative Assembly:§

Provided that the President may, by notification in the Official Gazette, direct that the provisions of this Part shall not apply to any Union territory or part thereof as he may specify in the notification.§

Why this exists

Part IXA of the Constitution, added by the 74th Amendment in 1992, created a uniform framework for urban local self-government (municipalities) across India. But Union territories are governed differently from states—some have their own legislatures (like Delhi or Puducherry) while others are run directly by administrators appointed by the President. Article 243ZS adapts the municipal framework to fit this variety, ensuring the same democratic decentralization principles extend to Union territories while allowing flexibility for the President to exempt certain territories where local conditions (like very small population, or special governance arrangements) make the standard scheme impractical.

Common misconceptions

Myth: This Article means all Union territories automatically get elected municipal governments just like states.
Fact: It only extends the same legal framework; it does not override the President's power to exempt specific Union territories or areas from these municipal rules altogether.
Myth: The administrator and the Legislative Assembly have identical powers under this Article.
Fact: The Article distinguishes between the two: the administrator stands in only where there is no Legislative Assembly, while a Union territory with its own Assembly uses that Assembly instead.