A high-level delegation of the Andhra Pradesh government began its three-day tour of Gujarat on Thursday to study the implementation of town planning schemes and their impact on planned urban development.

The study tour comes in the wake of Andhra Pradesh government’s plans to implement town planning schemes in urban local bodies of the state.

Led by Y Srilakshmi, Principal Secretary, Municipal Administration & Urban Development Department, and comprising senior government officials, municipal commissioners, town planners, and housing and urban development authorities, the 25-member delegation had a meeting with officials of Institute of Town Planners India (ITPI) in Ahmedabad late on Thursday.

“The town planning model has been very successful in Gujarat, and has contributed to planned development in the state. However, it is also an elaborate and quite a technical process. The Andhra government team is here to understand how the town planning model works. We made presentations about various aspects of integrated town planning with the delegation,” said NK Patel, the national president of ITPI.

On Friday, the delegation made a field visit to a site in Ahmedabad to get a firsthand experience of a town planning scheme. Later in the day, it is slated to hold discussions with officials and town planners of Ahmedabad Urban Development Authority on reconstitution of town planning schemes. 

According to the delegation’s itinerary, it is also slated to visit the Ahmedabad Municipal Corporation on Friday evening, to understand the system of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR), Slum Improvement Scheme, and Transit Oriented development.

On Saturday, the third and final day of its visit, the delegation will visit the Gujarat International Finance Tec-City (GIFT), home to the country’s only International Financial Services Centre (IFSC).