The government has decided to form 744 local units across the country, within the earlier ceiling set by the Local Level Restructuring Commission.

The LLRC had earlier recommended 719 local units. The Madhes-based parties had said the number of units in the Tarai was low in proportion to the population there.

A Cabinet meeting late on Sunday evening endorsed the report of the taskforce that decided to increase 21 local levels in Province 2 and add two more municipalities in Kathmandu, besides one each in Manang and Bajhang.

According to Minister Daljit Shripaili, the government decided to allow the concerned Village and Municipal Councils to decide their administrative centres.

The government also decided that disputes related to the number and structures of the units locally would be resolved in political consensus. The Cabinet honoured the recommendations of the Technical Committee in Nuwakot.

On the dispute in Khotang, the government has decided to accept the recommendations of the LLRC. Shripaili said the Cabinet had decided to publish the restructuring report with the approved revisions in the Nepal Gazette. This will open the door for implementing the recommendations at a time when the Election Commission has been demanding it urgently.