Government constituted the Directorate of Town and Country Planning (DTCP) under the The Tamil Nadu Town and Country Planning Act, 1971 after repealing the Tamil Nadu Town Planning Act 1920. It functions under Housing and Urban Development Department.
The total geographical area of the state is 1,30,058 sq.km. This Department has jurisdiction over an area of 1,28,869 sq.km. Tamil Nadu is the most urbanised state in India with an Urban Population share of 48.45% people (i.e nearly 3.49 crore) living in urban areas.
This Department deals with the development in urban and rural areas on planned lines and is vested with preparation of Regional Plans, Master Plans, New Town Development Plans, and Detailed Development Plans, and carrying out variations in the statutory plans. According technical clearance/planning permission for Non-High rise /High Rise buildings, and layouts. It also processes the applications for construction of buildings in the Hill Area and places it before the Hill Area Conservation Authority and before the Architectural Aesthetic Aspect Committee in case of developments in Hill stations of The Nilgiris, Kodaikanal, Yercaud, and Valparai.
