KATHMANDU, May 15: Although the performance of local bodies since their election last year has remained dismal, they should be given more time, say experts.With the local polls, the local bodies, which had been running without elected people's representatives for 15 years, finally got their own officials in line with the new federal setup, raising hopes of local development among the general public.

Balananda Paudel-led Local Level Restructuring Commission (LLRC) had recommended the government to allocate the number of local levels to five hundred. However, the commission was compelled to revise the number twice; firstly 719 and later on 753.