This became clear at the end of a series of meetings Chief Minister Keshubhai Patel held on Sunday with top bureaucrats and elected representatives from the six municipal corporations in the state.

Patel made it clear at the meetings that the government would not stop at allotting plots to the urban poor, but would entrust municipal corporations the task of constructing subsidised houses on those plots. For this, he said, the government was thinking of even amending the Bombay Provincial Municipal Corporations Act.

Patel said other corporations would asked to follow the Rajkot pattern, where three-storied buildings were built for the poor. Commissioner of Vadodara Municipal Corporation accepted the proposal on the spot, according to an official statement. The chief minister also stated that the state government would scrutinise on merits proposals for transfer of government properties for public purposes coming under obligatory functions from case to case basis.

With particular reference to Ahmedabad, Patel expressed the government resolve to provide finances to the Vadilal Sarabhai General Hospital as people from several parts of the state were getting benefit of modern facilities there.

Besides, he said the government might exempt the AMC from stamp duty in the bonds issue. Also came under discussion were the Sabarmati river front development project, national water conservation project, property tax formula and expedition in finalisation of town planning schemes of the city.

For Surat, the chief minister gave a patient hearing on the local issues like providing land for indoor stadium expansion, exploring possibility of state co-operation in raising of resources for Surat's development plan, development of Tapti river front, creating an amusement park on Alia Bet, and developing Transport Nagar to meet the growing demand of commercial cargo traffic at Surat.

Patel discussed expansion of Vadodara municipal limits, granting powers to dispose of slum quarters under possession of the VMC, fixing of rates for drawing water for the city from Panam reservoir, about which the corporation and the irrigation department are quarreling. The government may, Patel indicated, declare the industrial areas around Vadodara as notified area with a view to raising additional resources from large industrial houses.

Another major point taken up for discussion was granting of right to fix development charge to municipal corporations and urban development authorities in their respective areas. Clear-cut policy guidelines would be announced shortly in this regard, he told the participating officials.

Officials representing Rajkot Municipal Corporation put forth their demand for drawing water from Machchhu-III dam and fixed rates for water from Aji-I reservoir.

They also urged the chief minister to consider their request with regard to regularising coverage of balcony space in the constructions that came up in the city. They are also said to have made a strong representations pertaining to issues pending before the district collector, according to the official statement.