Kathmandu, December 17

The Local Bodies Restructuring Commission has prepared its report determining around 725 local bodies, including Village Councils and municipalities and has sought Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal’s time to submit its report on Wednesday.

The PM told LBRC Chairman Balananda Paudel at a meeting with the latter this evening that he would try to forge consensus with the agitating Madhes-based parties before submission of the report.

The report will clear the way for holding local bodies’ elections under the new structure.

“We have prepared our report and I met with Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal seeking his time for submitting the report. The commission has demanded time on Wednesday. PM Dahal has said he will inform the commission about the time for report submission,” Paudel told THT.

The number of local bodies is in the periphery of 725. The exact number cannot be disclosed now as the report is yet to be submitted, Paudel said.

Sources said that the commission would try to incorporate the concerns of Madhes if consensus could be forged with the Madhes-centred parties at the political level on restructuring of eight districts — Saptari, Siraha, Dhanusha, Mahottari, Sarlahi, Rautahat, Bara and Parsa — of Province 2 before submission of the report.

The PM advised Paudel to keep some room for adjusting the report if consensus could be forged with the agitating Madhes-based parties before submitting it, a source close to the PM said.

Dahal told Paudel that the government was making efforts to resolve the concerns of Madhes-based parties on the issue of state restructuring and if possible their concerns should be addressed before the report submission, said the source.

“Paudel briefed the PM about the commission’s report. The PM suggested that he wait and try to incorporate the concerns of Madhes-based parties before submitting the report,” said an aide of the PM.

LBRC member and coordinator of Province 2 Sunil Ranjan Singh said, “I will write a note of dissent as the report doesn’t demarcate the number of local bodies in the plains on the basis of population.

Besides, it has employed the same criteria for hill and plain areas although the plain areas are denser in terms of population.” Political consensus has also not been forged in Province 2 and thus the stakeholders of the province are not satisfied with the commission’s work, he said.

The commission was mandated to determine the number, boundaries and economic potential of village councils, municipalities and special, protected and autonomous regions, as stated in Article 56 (5) of the constitution, within one year of its formation.

Madhes-based parties have been demanding two provinces in the Tarai and determination of local bodies on the basis of population in the plains.

After the commission submits its first report, it will begin work on determining special, autonomous and protected regions as mentioned in the new constitution.