Tehran-- Deputy Tehran Mayor for Urban Services Mohammad Haqani announced here on Sunday that the World Bank (WB) is slated to extend a loan of $U.S.70 million to Tehran Municipality for environmental protection.

Preliminary steps have been made to receive the loan, he added.

Speaking at a press conference, he pointed out that another non-reimbursable grant of $one million has been earmarked for Research and Development (R&D) on environmental issues.

Haqani added that given the Tehran vast area and its large population, the formulation of decision and policies should be centralized while 'decentralization should be the buzzword in execution of those polices'.

He added that decentralization entails that decisions in the districts be carried-out in that area and even 'the local mayor also be elected by the people'.

This has already been implemented in Tehran's district of 'Shahrak-e Qods', he added.

Meanwhile, Tehran Mayor Mohammad Hassan Malekmadani in a meeting with visiting World Bank (WB) deputy managing director Shengman Zhang said here in August that despite the existing obstacle, Tehran municipality is striving for fundamental structural reform in the capital city.

He added that despite the readiness shown by citizens to participate in the city's affairs, 'the officials do not have the resources to utilize such sort of participation'.

He said those who are resisting bureaucratic and administrative changes only view their personal and fleeting interests have created problems for the administration of an urban city such as Tehran.

He said that WB is ready to participate in modernization of the sewage system, and to implement measures to safeguard the environment and transportation as well as reforming the financial-auditing systems and designing a self-sustaining financial mechanism for the city.