Indore, July 27: Observing that development of any city is the mirror of its happiness and progress, Prime Minister Atal Bihari Vajpayee today emphasised the need to preserve environment, history and beauty of cities while developing them to provide comforts and facilities to the people. In a message to the South Asian Mayors' Conference being organised here, Vajpayee said "while developing urban cities, efforts should be made to ensure that the city remains beautiful, its historic glory remains intact and its environment did not get affected".

He said "sometimes in the name of urban development, city planning and its laws were overlooked because of which, people instead of getting better facilities have to face lot of problems". Expressing optimism that the two-day conference would have a meaningful discussion on important issues related to urban development, the Prime Minister hoped it would endeavour to come out with solid suggestions for raising the standard of living of people in urban areas.

The message was read out by Indore Mayor Kailash Vijaywargiya at the conference today.

Bureau Report