Town Planning involves both control of existing and new development, and "strategic planning" to ensure our resources are carefully managed to match our future needs and expectations.

Planning is a dynamic process that is constantly evolving in response to changes within the community.

Town Planners develop strategies and design the communities in which we live, work and play. Balancing the built and natural environment, community needs, cultural significance, and economic sustainability, Planners aim to improve our quality of life and create vibrant communities.

As cities and town continue to grow in terms of size and population, planners are in increasing demand to manage these changes.

A Master plan or a Development plan or G.T.P scheme may be defined as ageneral plan for the future layout of a city showing both, the existing andproposed streets or roads, open spaces, public buildings, residential,commercial areas etc. Thus the G.T.P scheme aims at controlling thefuture growth of a Town or urban area along pre conceived andpredetermined paths. Generally the perspective period for the G.T.Pscheme or Master plan is two decades in order to meet the futurerequirements considering its role, the potential and problems.

In India, the idea of preparation of development plan is understood to havebeen flourished after 1915 when the Bombay Town Planning Act waspassed and was soon followed by the Madras Town Planning Act in 1920.The first comprehensive Act requiring the preparation of developmentplans and authorizing its enforcement is the Bombay Town and CountryPlanning Act, 1954 which actually came into force in 1957. This Actrequired the preparation of development plans by the concerned localbodies within a specific period.

A G.T.P scheme or Master is an ideal plan showing the full development ofa Town or urban area at some future date. At the same time it should besufficiently elastic. It is therefore, not a fixed plan, but it is possible toamend it from time to time to keep it in pace with any to accommodate thenew Development of any revised estimate of the future growth andrequirements of the Town.

A Detailed Town planning scheme is covered by a part of the Town or apart of General Town planning scheme. The GTP scheme covers all theLand uses with proper infrastructure are achieved through the properimplementation of schemes.

Objects of G.T.P Schemefollowing are the main objects of preparing a Master plan for the town:

It aims at intelligent and economic spending of the public funds forachieving welfare of the inhabitants in respect of amenity, convenienceand health.

1. It arranges the pattern of a town in such way so as to satisfy the presentrequirements by the coming generation.
2. It helps in restricting the haphazard and unplanned growth.
3. It places various functions which a town has to perform in physicalrelationship of each other so as to avoid the chances of mutual conflict.
4. It removes the defects of uncoordinated physical growth of the variouscomponents of town due to the fact that it considers the entire city area ortown as planning and development entity.