Govt sets criteria to merge local units, redraw boundaries
Summary
The government has set criteria to merge local units, redraw their boundaries and review municipal classifications, paving the way for a possible reduction in the number of local governments after the upcoming local-level elections.
Key Points
- The government has issued criteria for merging local units, redrawing boundaries and reclassifying municipalities and wards.
- The changes will be considered after the upcoming local-level elections, since local unit numbers cannot be changed within a year of an election.
- Local bodies can be merged or upgraded if they meet legal and infrastructure requirements, including population, revenue, roads and services.
- Nepal currently has 753 local units, including six metropolitan cities, 11 sub-metropolitan cities, 276 municipalities and 460 rural municipalities.
