KATHMANDU, Feb 3: Lawmakers from the ruling Nepali Congress (NC), CPN (Maoist Center) and Madhes-based political parties have demanded revisions in the report of the local level restructuring commission (LLRC).
The lawmakers have urged the government to review the report, in a bid to address the grievances that have surfaced in different districts of the country, before implementing it.
Speaking in parliament meeting this week, lawmakers from the ruling parties stood against the report of the LLRC.
The commission has recommended creating 719 local units across the country. The government has not formally acknowledged the report following protests from Madhes-based political parties.
Govt mulls sending LLRC report back to commission
Lawmakers from the ruling NC, Maoist Center and Madhes-based political parties have criticized the report claiming that it has undermined population as a basis while finalizing number of local units in the Tarai-Madhes districts.
"When the local bodies were delineated 45 years ago, the tarai had 35 percent of the national population; now the tarai has 50 percent of the population but the local units there number less than 35 percent," said Prabhu Sah of Maoist Center speaking during special hour in parliament on Thursday. Ram Narayan Bidari of the same party argued that Article 295 of the constitution allows the government to make revisions in the report.
NC lawmaker Ram Krishna Yadav also demanded revision of the proposed delineation of local units stating that the report has not followed geography and population as bases. Kamal Pangeni of NC demanded that the LLRC report be made public and urged the government to tell the parliament how it will implement the report.
However, Rajendra Pandey of CPN-UML, while speaking in the House meeting on Thursday, demanded that no delay be made in implementing the LLRC report and announcing the date for election.
Other, lawmakers representing Madhes came down heavily against the report for not taking population as basis while delineating local units.
Mahindra Yadav of Tarai-Madhes Sadbhawana Party demanded that the report be sent back to the commission as it has not made population as a basis while delineating local units in the tarai.
Earlier, Farmullah Mansoor of NC and Ashok Kumar Mandal of CPN (Maoist Center) speaking at the House meeting on Monday had stood against the recommendations made by the LLRC.
Mansoor and Mandal were of the view that the local poll cannot be held based on the local-level restructuring done by the commission. According to Mansoor and Mandal locals in Bara and Saptari are protesting against the report.
Earlier, NC senior leader Ram Chandra Paudel had also suggested to the government to revise the report, citing protests in different parts of the country.
