Raja Todarmal was the minister for revenue in the court of Akbar. Building upon the foundations laid by Sher Shah, Todarmal introduced a system of land reforms, the essence of which was an assessment of the land revenue according to the extent of cultivation, the nature of the soil and the quality of the crops. He set up a scheme of laborious measurement, analysis of possibilities and calculation of prospects…

Usually, us human beings tend to cumulate in urban centres, and if we go places, then to those which we consider as worthwhile a visit, such as the Tower of Pisa or Old Faithful Geyser in Yellowstone National Park. Due to our unbalanced focus on certain areas, we have a distorted image of our world – much more jam-packed of houses, roads and people than it actually is…

For safe sailing, two most important requirements are to be able to determine clearances between the sea floor and the keel of the ship, and between the mainmast and overhead structures, such as cables and bridges. For these clearances, the mariner has to know correctly and accurately the following:1. Location of the sea floor or ocean depth,2. Height of the overhead structure,3. Locations of the ship’s keel and mainmast.

Around the year 1840, Colonel George Everest, Surveyor General of India, got completed the Great Trigonometric Surveys (GTS) project against all odds and his own recurring sickness. During this survey, a peak was spotted in the Himalayan range area shining well above in height over all other peaks. Later, it was confirmed that it was indeed the Earth’s highest peak. In recognition of his special contribution to the GTS, this peak was named “Mount Everest” to honor him.

Cadastral surveys are specially designed large scale surveys, generally on 1:4000 scale which are linked to land ownership and property. In case of urban cadastral surveys, the scales may be as large as 1:500 to 1:4000. This paper is, however, emphasizing the rural and village properties. The urban cadastre, although very vital needs a separate and detailed discussion.