The ruling CPN (UML) has prepared its report for state restructuring proposing to divide the country into 13 states.

A committee coordinated by UML politburo member Ramchandra Jha proposed the states based on the identity of the people staying in a certain region and availability of natural resources there.

The party has proposed to make seven ethnicity-based and two language-based states, while four others states are multi-cultural.

Ethnicity-based states include Kirat, Tamsaling, Linbuwan, Magrat, Tamuwan,Tharuhat-Lumbini and Newa, while the language-based states include Mithila and Bhojpura.

Mechi, Sunkoshi, Gandaki and Karnali are the proposed multi-cultural states. Multi-cultural states were proposed as the region had people representing various caste and ethnic groups and speaking different languages with majority speaking Nepali.

The report also proposes for a three-tier governance system with central, provincial and local. It also proposes for a special mechanism which includes autonomous, special and protected area.

The party has also proposed to cut down the number of VDCs and empower them further. Services like issuing passports, citizenships, land registration certificates should be rendered from local bodies, the report says. Likewise, the proposal calls for cutting down the number of VDCs to about 1200 from the existing 4000.

Meanwhile, five UML youth leaders have urged the party leadership to call a central committee meeting immediately to discus some contentious issues in the party and patch up the growing rift among senior party leaders.

Central committee members Ghanashyam Bhusal, Arun Nepal, Rajendra Gautam, Yogesh Bhattarai and Bijaya Paudel met party chairman Jhala Nath Khanal Thursday and asked him to call a central committee meeting immediately.

The leaders have also suggested three senior party leaders, chairman Khanal, KP Sharma Oli and Prime Minister Madhav Kumar Nepal to place the party’s interest on top of everything else and not express remarks that deteriorates the image of the party in public functions.

Chairman Khanal said, the central committee will be called after Dashain festivals, while a politburo meeting will be called before Dashain. nepalnews.com