Master Plan and Zonal Plan

TUDA Region and Tirupati Town

PROJECT PROFILE
Client
Tirupati Urban
Development Authority
(TUDA)

Area
847.95 sq km

Duration
Sep 2001 - Jan 2003

Associated
Consultants
School of Planning and
Architecture, JNTU,
Hyderabad

Salient Features
Base Map
Comprehensive Studies
Stakeholder Consultations
Planning - Road Network,
Landuse and GDCRs
Implementation Strategy

Tirupati is a temple town, famous for the Balaji Temple at Tirumala which is reported to be
richest temple in the world. On an average 55,000 people visit the temple daily and on peak
days the number crosses 150,000. The economy of the town is completely dependent on
religious tourism. The Tirupati Urban Development Authority (TUDA) commissioned EPC to
prepare a “Master Plan for TUDA Region and Zonal Plan for Tirupati Town”, under the provisions
of the Andhra Pradesh Urban Areas (Development) Act, 1975.

The planning area is 847.95 sq km of which about half is under reserved forest and the
remaining 450 sq km consisted of Tirupati Town, 3 towns of Renigunta, Chandragiri, Trichanur
and 89 villages. The development area has very scenic landscapes, the back drop of Tirumala
Hills, a river that meanders through, a system of inter-connected natural water tanks and
several places of attraction. The town faces issues on account of influx of tourists (intense
commercial activities in the historic core, traffic congestion, solid waste management); rapid
peripheral growth; regional connectivity and slow economic growth. The master plan and
zonal plan addressed some of these challenges in a comprehensive manner - there were
proposals across various sectors, including renewal of historic areas; the plan involved a
consultative process and for the first time in India an updated base map for a city was
prepared using IKONOS satellite images and brought into a GIS format.

EPC Environmental Planning Collaborative