The Institute of Town Planners, India owes its origin to a small group of dedicated town planners, who, in 1947, decided to set up a professional Town Planning Institute on the lines of the Royal Town Planning Institute, London. As the planners, numbered only six then, a registered society could not be set up. Therefore, this small group formed itself into an Indian Board of Town Planners which after three years of continuous work formed the Institute of Town Planners, India with members numbering only fifteen having its own Memorandum, Articles of Association and Bye-laws. The Institute which was established in July 1951, with Late Shri M.Fayazuddin as the first President, was formally inaugurated by Shri N.V. Gadgil, the then Union Minister of Works and Housing. Today, the institute has a membership of over 6,500, apart from a sizable number of student members, many of whom have qualified Assocaiteship Examination (AITP) conducted by ITPI.
The names of the fifteen founder members of the Institute of Town Planners, India are as follows:
The following distinguished personalities are Honorary Fellows of the Institute:
The main objectives of the institute are:
To advance the study of town planning, civic design and kindred subjects and of the sciences and arts as applied to those subjects.
To promote planned, economic, scientific and artistic development of towns, cities and rural areas.
To promote the general interests of those engaged in the practice in town and country planning.
To foster the teaching of subjects related to town and country planning and assist in providing such teaching.
To device and impose the means for testing the qualifications of candidates for admission to membership of the Institute by examination.
To consider all questions affecting the practice of town and country planning and to initiate and watch over planning and to procure changes of, and amendments in, the law relating to or affecting town and country planning.
To hold conferences or meetings for the discussion of, and the exchange of views on matters affecting or relating to town and country planning, the reading of papers and the delivery of lectures; and to hold congress or exhibitions and to award medals, certificates, prizes or diplomas in connection herewith.
To form or acquire by purchase, donation, bequest or otherwise a library and collection of maps, drawings, designs or other materials and to maintain, extend and improve the same.
To ascertain and notify the law and practice relating to town and country planning, and to compile, collect, revise, print and publish statistics, professional records, and periodicals relating to any of the objects of the Institute.
The Institute has two categories of membership i.e.
The Council may elect to be an Honorary Fellow a distinguished person. Uptil now this distinction has been conferred on Pt. Jawaharlal Nehru (1954), Sardar Swaran Singh (1953), Sir M.Visvesvarya (1953), Bhagwan Sahay (1986) because of their outstanding contribution in promoting the objects of the Institute.
The major achievements of the Institute are as follows:
Setting up planning schools to turn out qualified town planners to serve the needs of the Country.
Establishing town and country planning organizations / departments at the centre and in the states.
Guidance in the formulation of a comprehensive town and country planning legislation.
Guidelines for professional services and charges.
Code of conduct for practicing planners.
Conducting the Associate Membership Examination (AITP), which is recognized by the Ministry of Education, Government of India at par with the degrees from Indian Institute of Technology, School of Planning and Architecture, New Delhi, Anna University, Tamilnadu, CEPT, Ahmedabad (refer the volume of list of Technical and Professional Qualification recognized by Government of India published by Ministry of Education and Social Welfare, GOI, 1978) for the purposes of recruitment to superior posts and services.
Publishing registered and refereed ITPI Journal and newsletter with well researched papers / articles and events, current issues and other useful information, etc., on urban and regional planning.
Recognition of various planning schools. Review and reengineering of syllabus curriculum for adoption by various schools of planning and monitoring of their implementation.
Introduction of new courses of Bachelor of Planning in Planning Schools.
To Promote the activities of the ITPI, Regional Chapters in different states have been created. Presently there are 24 Regional Chapters and 5 Regional Centres, mainly located in the State Capitals. These chapters promote the objectives of the Institute in their respective regions. 12 Chapters have their own buildings and another 4 Chapters buildings are under construction.
Apart from holding of Annual National Town and Country Planners Congress, on the invitation of the Government in different parts of the country on themes of topical interest, a new activity in the form of “Zonal Conferences” has been strengthened in the year 2003-2004. Zonal conferences in the 4 regions of the country have been organized to facilitate not only the interaction among the members of the chapter but amongst the Regional Chapters in various Zones.
We would like to develop partnership with SAARC Countries for synergising urban planning and development activities; Partnership with UNDP, Ministry of Home Affairs and ITPI in connection with capacity building of Town Planners and mainstreaming disaster risk management in urban planning curriculum, strengthening and activating Regional Chapters to prepare and implement vision plan for the next five years, to constitute Expert Committees for projecting ITPI’s stand on various current issues, policies and programmes.
On the request of Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India a project report was prepared by ITPI for establishing four new Schools of Planning & Architecture in the country. Based on this report Government has taken a decision to establish two SPA’s.
A separate board of Town & Country Planning education has been constituted by AICTE on the request of ITPI.