A day after the Local Level Restructuring Commission (LLRC) made public the number of local units, whose number the commission has proposed 744 at maximum, the Madhes-based parties on Saturday objected to the proposal, saying the criteria is biased against the people living along the southern plains.

The regional parties have accused the LLRC and three major parties—Nepali Congress, CPN-UML and CPN (Maoist Centre)—of deliberately trying to disenfranchise Madhes and Madhesi constituencies.

“The new set of criteria seeks to lessen number of the local bodies in the Madhes. We cannot accept the criteria as it is biased against Madhes,” said Sadbhawana Party Co-chair Laxman Lal Karna.

Karna added that the government should first settle the dispute over federal boundaries before fixing the number of local units. “How can the number and boundaries of local bodies be determined when the number of federal provinces is still uncertain? It doesn’t make any sense,” said Karna, adding that the government should resolve boundary issue first if it is serious about holding polls.

Madhesi leaders have been asking the government to put off the task of local level restructuring until an agreement is reached on provincial boundaries.

The agitating parties have long been demanding at least two provinces along the Tarai plains, besides making amendment to several other issues pertaining to representation in the Upper House, citizenship and working language of provinces. 

Following consultation with three major parties, the LLRC on Friday made public the revised criteria for fixing the number of local bodies, as per which the number of local units will be between 507 and 744.

'How can the number and boundaries of local bodies be determined when the number of federal provinces is still uncertain? It doesn’t make any sense'

- Laxman Lal Karna, co-chair, Sadbhawana Party

As per the revised criteria, for a village council the population size in mountain districts has to be 13,000, in hill districts it has to be 22,000 and in Tarai districts it has to be 40,000. Earlier, for a village council the population size for mountain districts, hill districts and Tarai districts was 15,000; 25,000 and 50,000 respectively.

Similarly, for each municipal council, the population size in mountain districts has to be 17,000, it has to be 31,000 in the hill districts and in Tarai districts the population size has to be 60,000. Earlier, population size for mountain, hill and Tarai districts was 20,000; 35,000 and 75,000 respectively.

According to an understanding reached between the three major parties and the commission, there will be around 219 municipal councils in 20 districts of the Tarai.

Madhesi leaders insist that the population should be the sole basis for carving out village councils in the plains. If that happens, there will be more than 300 village councils in the Tarai, according to Morcha leaders. The Tarai constitutes 51 percent of Nepal’s population.

Sanghiya Samajbadi Forum-Nepal Chairman Upendra Yadav warned of protest if the LLRC continues its work without paying heed to agitating parties’ concerns.

“On the one hand, the government appears to be working to resolve the disputed issues of the constitution, but on the other hand, it is busy making the list of problems longer. The constitution should be amended and the federal boundaries should be revised before moving forward,” said Yadav.

The Madhes-based parties insist that the local level restructuring is a debated issue and should be resolved in a package along with other outstanding disputes.

The Samyukta Loktantrik Madhesi Morcha, an alliance of seven Madhes-based parties, has been insisting that all works pertaining to the state restructuring should be suspended until the federal boundaries are revised, one of their key demands.