The parliamentary Development Committee has recommended that the government take population, geography, infrastructure development and transport network into account while demarcating the boundaries of the local bodies.

The committee on Tuesday asked the government to give utmost priority to proportionate distribution of resources in the process. It has instructed the government to ensure equal distribution of resources as much as possible at the local bodies such as village councils, municipal councils and autonomous and reserved areas. The committee decided that the long overdue local polls should be held by October, 2016. People are facing difficulties in accessing services from local government units in the absence of elected representatives while regular development works and post-earthquake reconstruction have been affected.

The committee suggested that the draft reports on local body restructuring be based on field visits. “The government can make required changes to the reports in line with the constitutional provision,” read the statement issued after the meeting.

The last local elections—for VDCs, municipalities and District Development Committees—were held in 1997. After the local bodies’ term expired in 2002, civil servants have been heading them as per an interim regulation. Successive governments have since failed to conduct the polls.

Local bodies are the government closest to the citizens. The new constitution has proposed restructuring the state into three levels—federal, provincial and local. In its decision, the Development Committee also directed the government to make arrangements immediately for holding the polls.