AURANGABAD: The local architecture community as well as the academia has hailed the government's decision to allot the School of Planning and Architecture (SPA) for Aurangabad, terming the development as a milestone that would benefit students besides changing the face of the city.

The architecture community has also lauded the provision of Rs 10 crore made in the state budget towards the SPA.

The proposed SPA would only be the fourth in the country after Delhi, Bhopal and Vijayawada, said Ajay Thakur, president of the Aurangabad centre of the Indian Institute of Architects (IIA).

"The SPAs are being hailed as premier institutes, offering graduate, post-graduate and research education. It will be a matter of great pride for the city to hold one of the four such institutes in India," he said.

The SPA would not only benefit students from Marathwada and other parts of the state, but would also attract candidates from across the country, Thakur said.

The IIA has expressed hope that the proposed SPA would also offer range of tangible and intangible benefits to the local economy.

Vijay Tawde, head of the architecture department at MGM Jawaharlal Nehru Engineering College said, "The students from our region would have to go all the way to Pune, Mumbai or other places for undertaking post-graduate and research studies so far. The proposed SPA would address the educational needs of such students."

Sunil Deshpande, a city architect, said the government should ensure proper planning to ensure that the proposed SPA materialises without any technical delay.

"Let us hope the government undertakes proper planning to execute the SPA plans and it becomes a reality as soon as possible."