The Local Body Restructuring Commission has started work after setting up its office. The first meeting of the commission held on Wednesday formed two committees which have been tasked with drafting the working procedures and plans for the operation of the commission within a week.

The government had formed the commission on March 14 under the leadership of former government secretary Balananda Paudel, with the constitutional mandate to determine the number and borders of Village and Municipal Councils.

According to commission Member Secretary Hari Paudel, the commission has set up its temporary office at the office of the Committee for Rehabilitation and Development for Other Backward Class in Jwagal, Lalitpur. The commission will have its own office soon, he said. As the country has opted for a federal administrative model, restructuring of the state, including of local bodies, is a major task to be undertaken. According to Article 56 of the constitution, the state will be restructured into three levels—federal, provincial and local. At the local level, the constitution outlines Village Councils, Municipal Councils and District Assemblies which will replace the existing VDCs, municipalities and DDCs, respectively. Currently, there is one metropolitan city, 12 sub-metropolitan cities, 204 municipalities and 3,157 VDCs in the country.

Shyam Bhurtel, Dormani Poudel, Madhav Adhikari, Pabitra Shrestha Subba, Sunilranjan Singh and Dhiraj Shah are its members.