Anna Univ to offer B.Plan course; CMDA, DTPC to fund

CHENNAI: School of Architecture and Planning (SAP) at the Anna University will soon offer Bachelor of Planning (B.Plan) course as the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority and Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) has agreed to provide funding to run the course.

According to a government order issued by the Housing and urban development department, the Registrar of the university requested financial assistance for capital expenditure to establish B.Plan programme and monthly recurring expenditure of Rs 17.8 lakh to commence the course from 2022-2023 academic year. The total estimated requested by the SAP for the first five years is Rs 18.54 crore.

The order directed the CMDA and DTCP to share the expenditure in the ration of 80:20 respectively to provide an initial funding seed of Rs 10 crore. Subsequently, funding will be made by the planning authorities for meeting the recurring expenses on year-on-year basis.

While the SAP has already submitted draft curriculum to the AICTE approval, member-secretary of CMDA will be appointed as member of the syllabus committee to suggest suitable modifications to address practical planning challenges in urban development.

Presently, the SAP provides postgraduate courses in Master of Planning (M.Plan). It may be recalled that the State government made an announcement in the Assembly about funding to SAP to start B.Plan programme.