In an informal chat with reporters on his return, Aloria expressed appreciation for the importance given to privatisation of important public utility services by Philippines, Thailand, Indonesia and Bangkok in wake of the resource crunch faced by their economy. ``In the long run, privatisation of civic services in South East Asian countries will benefit both the public and the civic bodies by easing the economic constraints,'' he opined.

Sharing his experiences of the Summit proceedings, Aloria, however, pointed out that while environment held much relevance in the developed countries, it would take long for the developing nations to give priority to it as they were still addressing issues such as basic amenities.

Mayor Bharti Vyas, who also represented the Vadodara Municipal Corporation (VMC) at the Summit, said that at a public meeting comprising delegates from various civic bodies and representatives of Asian Development Bank (ADB), World Bank (WB) and environmental agencies, she had raised the issue of the hesitation shown by the WB in extending loans to India. Vyas said the WB representatives had assured that they would arrive at a conclusion within four months on the recent negotiations held between the WB and VMC in Ahmedabad.

Mayors at the summit shared the awareness that many of the region's challenges were directly related to the growth and management of the cities. They joined with their partners from other sectors to confirm the central role of sound urban planning in addressing these challenges - planning that is based on a vision of livable, sustainable communities, the best use of new technologies, and the understanding that good environmental policy is sound economic policy.

Towards this end, the participants reaffirmed the endorsement provided by national governments at the 1992 UN Earth Summit, the 1996 UN City Summit, and other global forums for the local planning process called `Local Agenda 21'. Local Agenda 21, the Summit concluded, has been key to achieving sustainable development outcomes at the local level.

Condemned: Meanwhile, members of the district unit of the All Gujarat Bramha Samaj condemned Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel's decision to lift the ban on cow slaughter stating that the move had sounded the death knell for the Bharatiya Janata Party government in the State.

In a release on Thursday, Samaj district president Shailesh Mehta (Sotta), general secretary Sanat Pandya, vice president Kalpesh Pandya, municipal councillors Dilip Kothari, Ashwin Thakore and others pointed out that it was Patel himself who had in the past taken the lead in a State-wide campaign for the implementation of a ban on cow slaughter.

Cases filed: The VMC has filed two cases in the municipal court for violations under the Prevention of Food Adulteration Act, 1954 on the basis of a report on samples tested by a public analyst.

Samples of packed wheat flour of the Mahashakti brand collected from the shop of one Janak Gandhi at Genda Faliya, Hathi Pol, showed the flour to be worm-infested. A case of adulteration has been booked against the shopowner. Another case was booked against the Annapoorna Milk and Sweet Centre, Makarpura Road, with the mawa samples collected from the shop not meeting the Act specifications.