Tamil nadu has witnessed accurate and systematic surveys of land holding of the kingdoms from very ancient times.

There is authentic epi-graphical evidence which reveals that "land as small in extent as 1/52428800000 of a veli was measured and assessed to revenue" in ancient Tamil Nadu.

There is also evidence about a very systematic survey of the vast chola country in 1002A.D., Under the imperial orders of RajaRaja the great, the founder of the chola Empire was carried out.

Systematic survey of a vast area was undertaken by King RajaRaja, that a very great accuracy was achived in the survey operations and that there were in popular use standardized technical terms relating to the survey operations, lead to the abvious inference that surveys should have been conducted in the Tamil country from times mush earlier to his period(985-1014 A.D).

SCIENTIFIC APPROACH - SOLID FOUNDATION - SIR WILLIAM LAMPTON

It was very fortunate that a man of the genius and resolution of Lambton was in the subcontinent to lay the foundation of the 'Great Trignometrical Survey of India' a few years before similar projects were undertaken by france and England.

The History of India is incomplete without the Great Trignometric survey carried by Sir William Lambton. This was an exhaustive exercise of surveying and giving to the sub-continent

SURVEYOR RADHNATH SIKDAR

Surveyor RadhanathSikdar, (a mathematician) who is the first Indian measured height of Mount Everest in 1852, with a height of 29,002 feet.

Modern measurements indicate the height is 29,037 feet, This is regarded as the beginning of systematic topographical mepping in indian and the founding of one of the oldest survey and mapping agencies in the world. In 2004 Government of India remembered Nain singh and Radhanathsikdar as postage stamps who helped to survey india 1800's.

IN 1858 FIRST SURVEY ESTABLISHMENT COMMENCED WORK IN MADRAS

In pursuance of a scheme sponsored by the Government of Madras in 1856 and sanctioned by the Court of Directors of the East India Company, the "Khasra method" of Cadastral Survey came to be in vogue in 1858. In this year Captain Priestly was appointed the first suerintendent of survey in madras and he commenced work with and establisment of 18 surveyors, 30 survey ameens, 50 clerks, 20 draftsmen nad computors.

INITIAL SURVEY - 1871

Madras revenue survey has been steadily progressing, under the superintendence of Colonel Priestley, since 1856 and it has the great triangulations as its basis. Initial survey started in the year 1858 in Madras Presidency.