Kathmandu, Apr. 20:Prime Minister Girija Prasad Koirala has underlined the need to make local bodies effective to expedite development works.

Mr Koirala was inaugurating the sixth council and the third convention of the federation of district development committees in Lalitpur today.

Stating that the present government has given top priority to maintaining consensus among all parties for the country’s development, the Prime Minister remarked that all the people’s representatives no matter which party they belong to should work with a feeling that politics is for democracy and development is for people.

The process of decentralisation has been given a push to extend the fruits of development to the grassroots, he reiterated that he will not lag behind in taking hard decisions to control corruption and maintain law and order.

Minister of State for Local Development Suresh Malla noted that the present government is determined to carry out development and construction work through local bodies.

CPN-ML president Sahana Pradhan and MPs Yubaraj Gywali and Pari Thapa also spoke at the function chaired by federation president Madhav Paudel.