Valley
MoFALD yet to provide LLRC with Ilaka details
The Local Level Restructuring Commission (LLRC), which has already said it would be difficult for it to meet the mid-November deadline, is further hard-pressed with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD) failing to provide the details of area clusters (Ilakas).The Local Level Restructuring Commission (LLRC), which has already said it would be difficult for it to meet the mid-November deadline, is further hard-pressed with the Ministry of Federal Affairs and Local Development (MoFALD) failing to provide the details of area clusters (Ilakas).
As per its revised terms of reference (ToR), the LLRC has to make the Ilakas “one of the bases” while fixing the number and boundaries of the local units.
The LLRC on October 7 had written to MoFALD, asking it to provide all the details, including the map of area clusters, whose number stands at 927. The ministry is yet to respond even after 10 days, said commission officials.
The LLRC, which had earlier completed around 60 percent of its work, now, as per the revised ToR, has to work from scratch.
“We need all the details of the Ilakas,” said Dor Mani Poudel, a member of the LLRC. The Cabinet on October 6 had revised LLRC’s working guidelines for a second time, making Ilakas “one of bases” for local level restructuring.
The LLRC, which was formed in March in line with a constitutional provision, had in July proposed 565 local units across the country. The LRRC had then taken geography, population size, community clusters and access to the government services in consideration.
But political parties could not agree on the LLRC proposal, with the Nepali Congress vehemently objecting to it saying the general public would face a hard time accessing government services if the number of local units was kept at as low as 565.
The government had on September 27 amended the LLRC’s ToR, making Ilakas the “main basis” for determining the number and boundaries of local units, but the commission objected to the government move. The government decision was taken in line with an
agreement reached among three major parties on September 25.
Stating that the move undermined a constitutional body’s jurisdiction, the LLRC had said that neither the government nor political parties “can dictate the commission”.
Following reservations from the LLRC, the government, three major parties and the commission on October 3 reached an agreement that the government would retract its earlier directive and extend LLRC’s deadline for submitting the final report till mid-November.
As per the new ToR, the commission is supposed to make Ilakas “one of the bases” instead of “main basis” while fixing the number of local units. With this change, the number of local units is likely to stand somewhere at 700.
As per the new deadline, the LLRC has only a month to submit its report.