KATHMANDU, March 15: A meeting of the Legislature-Parliament today accepted a bill tabled seeking consideration on the bill relating to fixation of the numbers of wards in rural municipalities and municipalities- 2073 BS by a majority.
Prior to this, taking part in the deliberations in the theoretical aspect of the bill, Nepali Congress lawmaker Mahesh Acharya insisted that the number of wards in rural municipal and municipal levels should be determined as per the constitutional provision. Local units should be empowered, he stressed.
Likewise, CPN (UML)'s Rewati Raman Bhandari said the bill was expected to be passed by the House before the government announcing a public notice regarding the restructuring of local units in the Nepal Gazette. The rule of law should be followed, he asserted.
UML's another lawmaker Krishna Bhakta Pokhrel objected to the bill as he argued it was for changing the boundary at the local-level.
Nepal Worker and Peasants Party's Prem Suwal demand a withdrawn of the bill while CPN (ML)'s Shivachanda Chaudhary expressed his strong concern over the split of existing wards at the local-level.
Shyam Shrestha ( Kavre) said the division of wards by the central parliament was a ridiculous . He was of the view of changing some provisions of the bill.
Bharat Kumar Saha of Nepali Congress stressed on the need of making the local units powerful.
Ramnarayan Bidari of CPN (Maoist-Centre) defending the bill, said the demand for its withdrawn was not logical as it could be revised.
Lawmakers Hari Prasad Nepal, Shyam Kumar Shrestha (Ramechhap) and Rameshwor Phuyanl said some issues incorporated in the bill are impractical and they should be revised.
Minister for Culture, Tourism and Civil Aviation Dilnath Giri, on behalf of the Deputy Prime Minister and Minister for Federal Affairs, said the government was ready to sort out the contentious issues in the bill.
The next meeting of the Legislature-Parliament has been scheduled for 13:00, March 19. RSS
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