Surveyor General of Sri Lanka is the head of
Department of Survey of
Sri Lanka
Sri Lanka, officially the Democratic Socialist Republic of Sri Lanka, also known historically as Ceylon, is an island country in South Asia. It lies in the Indian Ocean, southwest of the Bay of Bengal, separated from the Indian subcontinent, ...
. The post was established on 2 August 1800 with the formation of the Surveyor General's Department by a proclamation of
Governor
A governor is an politician, administrative leader and head of a polity or Region#Political regions, political region, in some cases, such as governor-general, governors-general, as the head of a state's official representative. Depending on the ...
Frederick North at
Galle
Galle (, ; , ) (formerly ) is a major city on the southwestern tip of Sri Lanka, south of Colombo. Galle is the provincial capital and largest city of Southern Province, Sri Lanka and is the capital of Galle District.
Galle was known as ''Gi ...
.
Joseph Jonville
Joseph Jonville, also known as Eudelin de Jonville (1756–1837) was a French diplomat and naturalist, who was also the first Surveyor General of Ceylon, from 1800 to 1805.
Joseph Marie Eudelin Mervé de Jonville was born on 2 September 1756 in C ...
was appointed as the Colonial Surveyor General, residing principally in Colombo and receiving orders directly from the government. Under him five principal surveyors were appointed and the land divided among them in the following manner. "One shall superintend the survey from the River of Chilaw to the Calanie Ganga, one from the Calanie Ganga to the River of Galle, one from the River of Galle to the North Easterly extremity of the Mahagampatto: to the Northern extremity of the District of Mulletivoe, and the remaining one from the Northern extremity of the District of Mulletivoe to the River of Chilaw, and shall be thus distinguished, the Surveyor of Negombo, of Colombo, of Matara, of Trincomalee, of Jaffna-Patam."
The post of Surveyor General was often combined with that of Civil Engineer and Commissioner of Roads. The department, during the first fifty years, was mainly engaged in the survey of scattered allotments of land for sale to private parties. The first title plan was issued by the new department on 20 August 1800 surveyed by
C. Schneider.
The current Surveyor General is W. Sudath L. C. Perera.
List of Surveyors General
References
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External links
Survey Department of Sri Lanka
{{Surveyor General of Sri Lanka