Miscellaneous
Delayed reports from districts may push mid-Oct submission
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday reiterated that the Local Level Restructuring Commission (LLRC) would table its report next month and the local elections would be held by March next year.Binod Ghimire
Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal on Monday reiterated that the Local Level Restructuring Commission (LLRC) would table its report next month and the local elections would be held by March next year.
In a meeting of the Development Committee of Parliament, Dahal said the government was committed to holding elections of the new local bodies within the given timeframe.
However, considering the delays by the technical committees at the district level in submitting their reports, it is highly unlikely that the commission will submit its report on the stipulated time.
As requested by the government, the LLRC had agreed to submit its final recommendations by mid-October if its technical committees submitted their reports by August-end. But one week past the deadline, only 16 districts have submitted their reports while the remaining 59 districts are yet to finalise their reports owing to disputes at the local level.
The commission, in its preliminary report, has proposed 565 local units. It had directed the technical committees to make final recommendations within the parameters in consultation with the parties.
However, political differences over the number has hampered works at the central level. While the Nepali Congress and the Madhes-based parties say the number is too low, the CPN-UML and the Rastriya Prajatantra Party-Nepal are for further decreasing the numbers.
“We are putting in our whole effort to finalise the recommendations by mid-October,” said Balananda Poudel, chairman of the commission. But the delay in receiving reports from the districts suggests meeting the deadline will be tough.
Among the 16 districts which have submitted their reports, hardly half a dozen including Dang, Rolpa and Kanchanpur have proposed decreasing the number of local units while the remaining districts are for increasing their numbers.
The delay in the LLRC report will directly affect the government’s schedule for holding the local polls. The Election Commission has said it needs at least four months for the preparations. If the LLRC report is not submitted by mid-October, it is not possible to meet the election deadline of March.
Poudel said the government and the parties should help the technical committees to submit their reports as soon as possible if they want the recommendations on time.
The LLRC was formed in March as mandated by Article 295 (3) of the constitution to restructure the local bodies. Though the commission’s tenure ends in March next year, it has been urged to submit its final recommendations by mid-October for the sake of the elections.