Action plan for 2010 outlined:

Town planners target NE

Gayan KANCHANA

The Institute of Town Planners Sri Lanka (ITPSL) have unveiled plans to rehabilitate and redevelop the northern and eastern provinces and outlined the action plan of the institute for the next year at a media conference recently. President of the ITPSL L.D. Dickman said, “The new target set by the Government for urgent development for the North and East is a challenge for us.

This not only demands high level skills, but also an understanding of the approach of the Government in attending to the needs of a large section of the population that has been directly affected”.

“The reawakening program of the Government for the north and east demands for more plan activities. Therefore, the institute should have a dialogue with policy makers and we have to be actively involved in the planning process in the north and east. Hence, the institute should focus on developing the town planning profession to undertake future challenges in planning and development,” he said.

The ITPSL President said there are many professionals who can make an equal contribution to the town planning profession. The institute will conduct educational programs for non Town Planners as well to enhance their knowledge in town planning.

He said that according to planners the urban population in the country will reach nearly 50 percent within the next 20 years, resulting in concentration of more urban areas.

This will demand more planning interaction by our planners for orderly development of urban and rural areas. To achieve this we intend to establish linkages with other professional bodies and organizations such as the Urban Development Authority, NPPD, BOI and CEA to undertake more planning activities.

“Town Planning in Sri Lanka is relatively a young professional discipline. It is a professional practice, the strength of which is usually built upon years of application and experience.

“Our generation of planners has through their youthful years grappled with mounting problems of urbanization, population explosion and the effects of unbridled expansion of consumerism on our cities and environments,” said Secretary of the ITPSL, Piyal Silva.