Valley
Local level restructuring: LLRC takes exception to three-party deal
The Local Level Restructuring Commission (LLRC) has taken exception to an agreement reached among three major parties to determine the local bodies based on the area clusters (Ilakas), saying that neither the government nor the political forces can dictate the constitutional body.Binod Ghimire
The Local Level Restructuring Commission (LLRC) has taken exception to an agreement reached among three major parties to determine the local bodies based on the area clusters (Ilakas), saying that neither the government nor the political forces can dictate the constitutional body.
The three major parties on Sunday agreed, in principle, to take the area clusters as the main basis while fixing the local bodies.
The LLRC, formed in March last year in line with the constitutional provision, had in July proposed 565 units, taking geography and population into consideration.
Amid disagreement over the number of units proposed by the LLRC, the parties on Sunday agreed to make the Ilakas, whose number stands at 927, the basis to determine the local bodies.
A day after the agreement among the major parties, LLRC members on Monday called on them to be mindful of the jurisdiction of the constitutional bodies.
“The government has not informed us about the agreement. However, this is not acceptable,” said a member of the commission seeking anonymity. “The government and the parties can give suggestions to the commission but cannot fix the criteria,” he added. “Nor can they ask the commission to follow their decision. The LLRC is a constitutional body and no one can dictate it,” he added.
Commission members said the whole purpose of the commission would be defeated if parties started taking decisions on the issues related it.
“An engineer from the Ministry of Local Development and Federal Affairs can delineate the boundaries if area clusters are to be made the sole basis for deciding on local bodies,” said the LLRC member, holding the agreement among the parties in derision.
The dispute over the number of local units proposed by the LLRC has delayed the work of district-level technical committee.
The LLRC had directed all the committees to submit their report by mid-September. But only 52 districts have completed their tasks so far.
The LLRC has to submit its final report by mid-October to allow the Election Commission ample time to prepare for the local level elections which have been planned by the government for March.