Role of Surveyor in Urban Infrastructure Development

By Nitesh Shrivastava On 2017-02-03 12:02:27

The successful planning and implementation of any project is governed by the degree of accuracy of site details made available to the planner. The details of the site, which enable determination of suitability and selection of site for any nature of project are the pre-requisite for planning at the conceptual stage itself. The surveyor plays an important role at the initial stage of conceiving any project whether rural or urban.

For proper integration of infrastructure, the four main elements: Institutional, technical, spatial and financial should be considered. These elements should work in unison and should have proper co-operation, co-ordination and above all integration. However, the introduction of integrated approach will require at least one agency/professional team to be named as ‘Surveyors’.

Planning is a continuous process; responding to multifarious developments, internal as well as external. Any city has new roles to play and urban infrastructure development needs new directions. New directions of planning require data, facts, information of past and present so that planners can plan for future on the basis of these information, data, facts available to them. Keeping in view the comparative data of past, present and future, a plan is prepared by planner. Collection and arranging of various data, facts, services of specialist, who is highly experienced and trained professional called ‘Surveyor’ are required. It is a fact that Surveyor is very close to nature, the problem, people and the facts. It is important that he should not only be qualified but also be trained and experienced for type and nature of survey to be conducted.

Surveyor should be very good in evaluation, estimation and observation with great deal of imagination. He should be governed by honesty to work and devotion to the nature. Surveyor’s basic role is to bring facts from ground, source, surrounding and nature and present the information in a manner to enable the planner to visualize the site without actually visiting. The facts collected by Surveyor are as good as legal documents. A surveyor by evaluation of cost and evaluation of qualities, based upon the “DREAM” (proposed plan) conceived by architect, planner or owner himself helps in achieving success.

It is a universal truth that surveys must precede any project, be it development of land, construction, road, railway, industries etc. Even in the field of economics, census, development, proposals, collection of data for future study of demand, popularity and surveyor has a very strong link of demand and supply between present and future. Surveyor is a person who upgrades data bank with the help of new information, suggestion, changing situation, new requirement so that factual justification can be prepared between availability and achievement.

Surveyor helps in fixing boundaries for protection of natural resources i.e. land, from encroachments. He also provides detailed survey map of topography (a fact sheet or translation of ground), so that site can be visualized at a glance without actually going into field, by representing his survey plan by national/international legends. Before planning or acquiring any land for new project we must know shape, type, area, topography, existing infrastructure, and existing services within the site and around the site. Topographical maps are essential for and in deciding the location of important proposal of new infrastructure, keeping in view facts brought/projected by surveyor. These maps also help in connecting proximity from one place to other place for communication system, transport system, etc. Input from the surveyor helps in development plan of city, village improvement plan, resettlement plans, land use plan, for future. It also gives identification of type of land i.e. rural, urban, agriculture, forest, waste land, rocky, hilly, sandy, marshy etc. On the other hand surveyor also prepares map for educational Atlas at various levels of schools and colleges. He also provides guide map for tourists.

Surveyor’s services are helpful to start thinking for new proposal, projects, and introduction of new products in the market. All these require the vital information of the ground details/data.

Role of surveyor in day to day life is useful in identifying popularity among consumers for a particular product. The inter-relationship of surveyor-user or beneficiary depending upon type of information/data a consumer requires. So, before any survey is to be taken in hand, he must know the requirement of client, purpose of survey, and type of survey period for which data/information is required.

Specifically, the role of a surveyor in urban infrastructural development is unlimited. A surveyor is a person who has specialized in and is practicing in so many skills, side by side with planner, researcher, engineer, primarily with a view to facilitate the other by providing data collected by him. Surveyor is first people who visit the site. Specification of surveyor may be I one or more fields.

Surveyor can help in preparation of environmental improvement scheme by providing physical survey of existing, J.J. Cluster, slum basti or encroached upon natural resources like land, river bunds, nallah-burms, forest etc.

In survey map, surveyor records natural resources like, area of land , shape of land, topography of land, land use, tree, water bodies, natural feature or any other details existing in the area to be surveyed. He classified the type of land , forest, water bodies in survey plan which help our planner in preparation of design scheme with maximum protection to existing features and natural resources. In the absence of inventory of natural resources of area surveyed, no planner can prepare any proposal.

The surveyor is the first link between the “Dreams” (proposed project) and its realization.

Posted in Land Valuation | Tagged Property Valuation Services, Government Approved Valuers