Kathmandu, June 8

While Province 3 government is preparing to take a call on the name of the province and designate provincial headquarters within a month, province 1, 2 and 5 do not have any clear timeline.

Province 3 Minister of Interior and Law Shalikram Jamakattel said the government had passed a voting manual and was likely to finalise the name of the province and its headquarters within a month. While PA members have floated the names of five districts Kavrepalanchowk, Nuwakot, Bhaktapur, Makawanpur and Chitwan for headquarters, lawmakers have moved two proposals with one group pitching for Newa-Tamsaling and the other for Nepa Mandal as name of the province.

Province 2 government had said in March it would move a proposal in the PA within a few days seeking a vote on the name and headquarters, but it has not done so. Chief Minister of Province 2 M Lalbabu Raut said he was trying to amend the regulations so that the PA could move the proposal, but that could happen only after the PA passed the budget and the government’s policies and programmes.  Province 2 Rastriya Janata Party-Nepal lawmaker Manish Kumar Suman said if the government had moved the proposal earlier, it would have been easy to name the province and designate its headquarters. “Madhes movement was crucial in ensuring federalism and I think Province 2 has the obligation of ensuring that the name of the province contains the word ‘Madhes,’ he said, adding if a compromise was necessary, Madhesi parties should be ready to put some other word along with the word ‘Madhes.’

Coordinator of the special committee formed to suggest the name of Province 5 and its headquarters Dipendra Kumar Pun Magar said his committee was collecting feedback from districts and experts and once the process got over, the report would be forwarded to the government. “As per the constitutional provision, these two issues should be settled by two-thirds vote in the PA, but I think effort will be made to reach consensus on the issues,” he said and added that three names had been suggested for the province — Lumbini, Swargadwari and Magarat -Tharuwan. Stakeholders have suggested that the committee designate Palpa, Rukum, Bardiya, Dang or Rupandehi as provincial headquarters.

Province 1 Minister of Interior and Law Hikmat Bahadur Karki said the government was trying to forge consensus within the party before seeking consensus from other parties in the PA on the name of the province. “We will try to win the consent of all PA members and if that is not possible, we will try to win at least two-thirds majority in the PA,” he said.