Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu

Abstract

Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu are the two union territories (U.T.) in the western part of India. These two U.T. merged to form a new U.T. of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu on 26th January 2020. Dadra and Nagar Haveli has become one of the three districts of the new U.T. as the Dadra and Nagar Haveli district other than the Daman and Diu district. Daman, the capital of the new U.T., is an enclave on the west coast of Gujarat, whereas Diu is an island situated slightly off the coast of Kathiawad near the Port of Veraval in Gujarat. Geographically, Dadra and Nagar Haveli (D&NH) spread over 491 km2 and are landlocked between Gujarat in the north and Maharashtra in the south. The geologies of Daman and D&NH are quite similar due to their similar topographies. Alluvial deposit layers are found in Daman and D&NH due to the Damanganga River and its tributaries. Diu is an isolated island with mostly alkaline soil. Soil investigation results showed the formation of clayey soils on the top strata and subsequently silty and gravel composition and at more significant depths, the presence of basalt is observed in Daman and D&NH, whereas in Diu, mostly silty sand formation is noticed. The effect of industrialisation and urbanisation is evident in the topsoil layers of the U.T. region.