JANARDAN GHIMIRE

"There is possibility of forging consensus among the political parties to hold elections in local levels very soon."

Efforts are underway to pop up with an alternative to the dissolved all-party mechanism at local bodies, but the finest of all would be election, stated Minister for Local Development Top Bahadur Rayamajhi on Monday.

Speaking at a press meet organised by the Tamghas chapter of the Federation of Nepali Journalists (FNJ) the Minister said that the all-party mechanism which was active in running the local bodies was dissolved, for its working standards were hazy.

All-party mechanisms were running the local bodies in absence of elected officials at local bodies.

According to Rayamaji, the best alternative to the local bodies, dissolved under the directions of the Commission for Investigation of Abuse of Authority (CIAA), will be election.

"There is possibility of forging consensus among the political parties to hold elections in local levels very soon," he said.

There has been no election of local bodies since 2002.

About a month ago, the CIAA had directed the government to immediately dissolve the ‘unconstitutional mechanisms’, citing that the all-party body was becoming a hotbed of irregularities.

Though the local administrators have been endowed with a responsibility to run development activities in local level, it won’t be durable and permanent, Rayamahi said, adding that the political actors are thus busy seeking alternatives to the same.

The government allocates around 45 billion rupees for local bodies every year.