Sunil Ranjan Singh, a member of the Local Level Restructuring Commission (LLRC), on Wednesday resigned as the coordinator for Province 2, where the commission had failed to carry out works, stoking uncertainty over the LLRC’s plan to submit its final report. 

There are eight districts in Province 2. 

Singh submitted his resignation on Wednesday citing non-cooperation from lawmakers including from the ruling Nepali Congress. 

He was coordinating local level restructuring in Province 2 where the agitating Madhes-based parties refused to cooperate with technical committees of the commission. 

“It became difficult to work as the coordinator [of Province 2] after NC lawmakers started calling for holding discussions in the respective districts, just days before LLRC’s plan to submit its report,” he told the Post. 

Following non-cooperation from the Madhesi parties, the commission was working to finalise the report consulting lawmakers of major parties from the respective districts.

But, issuing a press statement on December 1, as many as 27 lawmakers from the NC demanded discussions in the respective districts before finalising the report. 

 “The commission can submit its report only if it excludes Province 2 from it,” Singh said, hinting that the LLRC will not be able to submit its final report by the deadline, which is Thursday. 

His resignation comes at a time when parties are inching closer to a deal on holding local level elections under the existing local structure. 

The Madhes-based parties, who have objected to the entire local level restructuring criteria, have been saying there is no point in restructuring the local bodies without addressing the row over provincial boundaries. 

The technical committees led by local development officers of the six districts of Province 2 have already submitted their reports, while those from Parsa and Bara are submitting their reports on Thursday. 

“But these reports lack political ownership. Therefore, we can’t submit them in the present form,” Singh said. 

The LLRC is planning to fix 13 local level units each in Saptari and Dhanusha, 14 each in Mahottari and Bara, 11 in Parsa, 12 in Siraha, 15 in Rautahat and 16 in Sarlahi.                          

The LLRC has said as per its plan, the number of local units across the country will be between 507 and 744.