In March this year, the Oli government formed a Local Level Restructuring Commission (LLRC) to recommend the restructuring of local bodies. The government was essentially following the mandate of Article 295 (3) of the constitution that had laid down the provision of forming a commission to restructure local bodies within six months of the constitution’s promulgation. The constitution also clearly states that the commission’s guidelines will be decided by the government. In line with the constitutional requirement, the Cabinet approved a 19-point terms of reference for the LLRC, which among other things, mandates the commission to create viable local units factoring in population, geographic area and administrative proximity.

For the last six months, the LLRC followed the ToR of the Oli Cabinet that had representation from the Maoist and some other parties. But as discussions about local level elections heat up, political parties have suddenly found the tentative recommendation of the commission unacceptable. Their major objection seems to be against the proposed 565 local level units, a drastic reduction from over 3,000 local bodies at present. Madhesi parties are worried that agreeing to a local level restructuring now will only provide legitimacy to the constitution that they have contested since its promulgation. They want the process to begin only after a constitutional accommodation is reached. While their concerns are understandable, those of the major political parties are not.

The big parties’ argument that 565 local bodies go against the spirit of decentralisation and devolution of power and that they will make service delivery less effective is part of deliberate misinformation or a selective reading of the LLRC’s recommendation. While it is true that the commission recommends 565 bodies, it also recommends many more sub units and service delivery mechanisms to take the government closer to the citizens. The commission recommends that the existing Village Development Committees (VDCs) function as the second level subunit of the local bodies. Once these bodies are formed, they will have the authority to create a third level subunit for service delivery. In other words, local bodies will be empowered to take decisions to expand their presence within their jurisdiction.

So the time has come for the government and political parties to stop the blame game and make a decision. They could in theory agree on a new set of criteria and revise the commission’s terms of reference. This means that the tenure of the commission has to be extended, which will further delay the restructuring of the local bodies and, by extension, the elections. This would also push Nepal closer to a constitutional void. The better option is to take ownership of the commission’s work and educate their cadres, paving the way for local elections following a constitutional settlement with the Madhesis. The Madhesi parties need to be assured that this restructuring will not affect boundary delineation or the number of provinces.