Govt avoids report on local bodies restructuring

Kathmandu, Dec. 27: The government is unwilling to receive the report on the restructuring of local bodies, said a member of the Local Bodies Restructuring Commission (LBRC) Tuesday.

"The Commission has been trying to get an appointment with the Prime Minister Pushpa Kamal Dahal Prachanda but the date has not yet been fixed for the meeting," said LBRC’s member Dor Mani Poudel. 

The Commission had completed the report a couple of weeks ago and planned to submit it to the PM last week but it was unable to get an appointment with him.

It is uncertain when the government will accept the much-awaited report, which is crucial to demarcating the local bodies as per the provision in the new constitution and holding elections at local, provincial and federal levels.

According to the constitution, all these elections must be held by January 20 next year while the Election Commission has been saying that it couldn’t hold local bodies’ elections by May next year if the report on local bodies restructure is not submitted to it about five months earlier.

Although the itinerary of PM Prachanda mentioned that there would be a meeting between the PM and members of the LBRC at 10:30 am at Singha Durbar, it could not take place, citing the PM's busy schedule.

The meeting was planned to hold discussion between the members of the Commission and the PM regarding the issues of local bodies restructuring.

LBRC’s member Poudel said that the meeting was rescheduled for Wednesday.

But, he has no idea about the submitting of the report to the government in case the PM doesn’t meet them Wednesday.

“We have put a lot effort in preparing the report. Now it is up to the government whether to accept it or not,” he said.

The LBRC informed that it has set the number of local level units at 725.

Earlier, the Commission had prepared the report with 565 local units which received flak from the political parties and the government consequently directed the LBRC to create local units from 507 to 744.  

However, it is a provisional report.

It will take additional time to prepare the final report.

The Commission, which was created in March this year, has it mandate to do its job till mid-March next year.