Publication of Tamil Nadu's Great Trigonometrical Survey stations released in five parts

The complete documentation of Tamil Nadu's Great Trigonometrical Survey (GTS) stations has been published in five parts. According to a report by The Hindu, this task was completed by the Survey and Settlement Department of Tamil Nadu and the Tamil Nadu State Archaeology Department.

The state government had approved a comprehensive campaign to identify all GTS stations located in the state, survey them, prepare maps, document them, and take steps to preserve them. The main objective of this initiative is also to facilitate future modern surveying activities in the state using the geographical coordinates of these stations.

Officers from the Survey and Settlement Department and TNSDA jointly undertook an extensive field-level survey for this work. During this process, all GTS stations located in Tamil Nadu were identified and their details were accurately documented. Based on this documentation, five volumes have been published under the title ‘Documentation of the Great Trigonometrical Survey Stations in Tamil Nadu’.

With the aim of ensuring the maintenance and protection of these GTS stations in the districts, the Director of Survey and Settlement has distributed these five volumes to District Collectors and district-level officers of the Survey Department. These stations currently fall under the jurisdiction of the Survey of India.

In a historical context, the Great Trigonometrical Survey was initiated on 10 April, 1802, at St. Thomas Mount in Chennai by Colonel William Lambton during British rule. This survey, conducted using theodolite instruments, continued for 70 years until 1871. As part of this campaign, Great Trigonometrical Survey stations were established across India and at various locations in Tamil Nadu.