Official guidance, Tamil Nadu land law
G.O. (MS) No.308, Increase in Validity of License for Land Surveying, 2024
The Revenue and Disaster Management [Survey and Settlement II(2)] Department issued G.O. (MS) No.308 on 16 August 2024, increasing the validity of the License for Land Surveying from two years to five years. The change applies to existing and future licensed surveyors, regardless of whether they are working under a contract.
What the government order changes
G.O. (MS) No.308 of the Revenue and Disaster Management [Survey and Settlement II(2)] Department increases the validity period of the License for Land Surveying from two years to five years. The Government approved the change after considering a proposal from the Director of Survey and Settlement.
The five year validity applies to:
- People who already hold a License for Land Surveying.
- People who receive the licence in the future.
- Licensed surveyors whether or not they are engaged as contract personnel.
The stated reasons are to reduce the hardship of renewing licences every two years, provide a medium term licence period and reduce the Department's related administrative work.
Who may be affected
G.O. (MS) No.308 directly affects licensed land surveyors trained under the Survey and Settlement programme. It may also be relevant to government departments, agencies and corporations that engage these surveyors for work such as Online Patta Transfer.
The document records that licences had been issued to 985 people. Of these, 629 licensed surveyors had been deployed on a contract basis across government work and organisations. These included Online Patta Transfer work, Chennai Metro Rail Limited, the Tamil Nadu Urban Habitat Development Board, Tamil Nadu Small Industries Corporation, the Hindu Religious and Charitable Endowments Department, Greater Chennai Corporation, Coimbatore Municipal Corporation and other listed projects and agencies.
For a property buyer or owner, the order does not change land ownership, patta rights or survey boundaries. Its stated change concerns how long a surveyor's licence remains valid.
Training and eligible qualifications recorded
The document explains that the licensed surveyor pool was initially created by providing three months of survey training to Diploma holders in Civil Engineering. Training covered traditional survey methods using chains, cross-staffs and theodolites, along with modern methods using Global Positioning Systems and Electronic Total Stations.
Permission was later given to provide survey training to additional qualification holders, including:
- Degree holders in Civil Engineering or Geo-informatics.
- M.Sc. holders in Geography.
- M.Sc. holders in Earth Remote Sensing and Geo-information Technology.
- National Trade Certificate holders in Survey.
- Holders of Army Trade Surveyor (Field) certificates issued by the Madras Engineering Group.
Administrative background
Before G.O. (MS) No.308, the licence validity period was two years and the renewal fee was fixed at Rs.1,000 for two years. The document records that 157 licensed surveyors had renewed their licences at that fee. The order states that it was issued with the concurrence of the Finance Department.
This summary is generated from the source document to help you find what is relevant. The PDF above is authoritative. For advice on your own property, use LandLens One or speak to a qualified professional.
Common questions
How long is a License for Land Surveying valid under G.O. (MS) No.308?
The validity period is five years, increased from the earlier period of two years.
Does the five year validity apply to surveyors who already have a licence?
Yes. The Revenue and Disaster Management [Survey and Settlement II(2)] Department states that the five year period applies to existing and future licensed surveyors.
Must a licensed surveyor be working on a government contract to receive five year validity?
No. G.O. (MS) No.308 states that the increased validity is independent of whether the person is actually working under a contract.
Does G.O. (MS) No.308 change my patta or property boundary?
The document does not make any change to patta rights, ownership or property boundaries. It changes only the validity period of the License for Land Surveying.
