Kathmandu, January 20

A meeting of the Constitutional Council held at Singha Durbar today recommended chairpersons of five constitutional commissions.

The meeting chaired by Prime Minister KP Sharma Oli recommended former government secretary Balananda Paudel as the chairman of National Natural Resources and Fiscal Commission. Paudel had also served as the chief of the erstwhile Local Level Restructuring Commission.

Provinces have long been demanding formation of the five-member commission to determine detailed basis and modality of the distribution of revenues between the federal, provincial and local governments out of the federal consolidated fund, and mobilisation of natural resources among the three tiers of government.

The government also recommended former finance secretary Shanta Raj Subedi as chairperson of Inclusive Commission, Vijay Kumar Dutta as chairman of Madhesi Commission, Bishnu Kumar Chaudhary as chief of Tharu Commission and Samim Ansari as chief of Muslim Commission.

The recommended chiefs of the commissions will be appointed to the posts by the president after the Parliamentary Hearing Committee endorses them. The commissions will have a tenure of six years each.

The meeting did not appoint members of the commissions. The council plans to hold another meeting after the prime minister returns from Switzerland, according to Deputy Speaker Shiva Maya Tumbahamphe. PM Oli left for Davos to take part in the World Economic Forum today.

The meeting, however, was not attended by Leader of the Opposition Sher Bahadur Deuba. According to Tumbahamphe, leader of the opposition should compulsorily attend the first meeting and subsequent meetings can take decisions on the basis of majority as per the constitutional provision.

Today’s meeting, however, did not recommend chiefs of three commissions — Indigenous Nationalities Commission, National Dalit Commission and National Women Commission.

Tumbahamphe said the recommendations would be made in the next meeting of the Constitutional Council.