Overview

DDC

District Development Committee. An administrative division area within a Zone or State, each with its own Distract HQ. There are 75 in Nepal. Not all District HQ are municipalities or connected by road.

Development Region

Nepal is currently administratively divided into 5 development regions. East, Central (including Kathmandu Valley), West, Mid-West and Far-West. These may disappear with a federal constitution.

Higher Secondary School

Years 11 and 12 (SLC "plus two" or "intermediate certificate"?)

Ilaka

Area subdivision of DDC. About 800 or so? Say a dozen per DDC including about 5 VDCs each. Likely to have a post office? Unclear whether also likely to be an RMC. Not a formal part of administrative hierarchy but often basis for organizing NGO projects?

Junior Secondary School

Years 7 and 8. Usually includes a Primary School. Free education, but not compulsory nor likely to soon be universal being introduced to year 8.

 Kiosk

Main Trail Crossing

Municipality

Urbanized area with population of at least 5,000. Local government is Municipal Council instead of VDC. Has electricity post office and road access. Divided into varying numbers of wards and Tole/Lanes. Curently 58.

Primary School

Years 1 to 6. Typically about 4 teachers. More than 90% of population expected to be within walking distance of a primary school for universal and compulsory primary education in 2009.

Road Head

RMC

Rural Market Centre. Regular market with say 10 shops. About 1,500. Presumably a "central place" with regular porter traffic from road head and households. About 200 being fast-tracked for development into municipalities.

State

A new federal structure is being debated which could be based on 11 or so States with full autonomy and therefore central importance in administration. One of these States, Madhes in central Terai,  could itself be divided into three autonomous sub-states, each with 3 DDCs.

There could also be autonomous DDCs or lower level administrative units in areas where particular minorities are concentrated.

Secondary School

Years 9 and 10 to School Leaving Certificate at year 10. Usually includes a Junior Secondary School and hence also a Primary School.

Settlement

May have a nucleated village centre in Terai. D)ispersed settlement pattern in Hills with say 50 to 500 households scattered over wide area but separated from adjacent settlements by uncultivated land (eg forest). Connected by footpaths and main trails.

Shop

Sub-Health Post

Tea House

Telecenter

Tole/Lane

Area subdivision of Municipality more relevant than ward as a "neighborhood"? May have community based organization? Unclear.

VDC

Village Development Committee. About 4,000 VDC offices are lowest level of government. Should have phone lines (VSAT) and computers(?) with email dialup internet connectivity. May be associated with a Public Call Centre using same connectivity. Presumably has solar power or genset. Subordinate to DDC. May coordinate with Ilaka. May have a post office? Will be a postal delivery and collection point? Always divided into (exactly) 9 wards.

Ward

Area subdivision of VDC or Municipality. About 35,000. Not a part of administrative hierarchy. Used to correspond to a settlement. May have a single nucleated village center in Terai. Will include several settlements in Hills. Often includes a Primary School or there is one in adjacent ward.

Weekly Market

Haat Bazaar weekly (or sometimes other periodic) gathering place for market stalls by households and merchants in Hills. Unclear on numbers or relation to RMCs. Presumably some storage facilities and some caretaker working and living nearby. But less than 10 or so shops and not usually visited by households  except on periodic market days. Might have porter traffic before and after market days?

Zone

federal constitution is finalized. See State.