Indumini Thilakarathna Becomes Sri Lanka's First Woman Surveyor

By: Women Entrepreneurs Review Team | Friday, 21 August 2026

Indumini Thilakarathna has made history after being appointed Sri Lanka’s first woman Surveyor General, becoming the 59th person to lead the country’s Survey Department. Her appointment marks a significant breakthrough in a profession and public institution that has traditionally been dominated by men.

Key Highlights:

• Indumini Thilakarathna becomes Sri Lanka’s first woman Surveyor General
• She takes charge as the 59th head of the Survey Department
• Her appointment follows a 37-year career in surveying and public administration

Indumini’s appointment was approved by the Cabinet of Ministers following a proposal from the Minister of Agriculture, Livestock, Lands and Irrigation. She succeeds P. K. L. S. Panduwawala, who retired after reaching the mandatory retirement age. While the appointment took effect on 20 August, it was announced on 21 August 2026.

The new Surveyor General brings 37 years of experience to the position. She joined the Survey Department in 1989 as a Government Surveyor and progressed through several senior roles during her career. These included Surveyor Superintendent, Senior Surveyor Superintendent, Provincial Surveyor General of Uva, Director of the Institute of Surveying and Mapping, and Additional Surveyor General.

Before her appointment, Indumini was serving as an Additional Surveyor General and was the most senior officer in the Special Grade of the Sri Lanka Surveyors’ Service. Her elevation therefore reflects both her extensive technical experience and her progression through the department’s senior ranks.

Her academic background combines specialist surveying and international expertise. She completed her BSc (Hons) in Surveying Sciences at the Institute of Surveying and Mapping in Diyatalawa before pursuing an MSc in Photogrammetry and Geodesy at the University of Stuttgart in Germany. She received her school education at Nivithigala Sumana Maha Vidyalaya, Ferguson High School and Seevali Central College in Ratnapura.

Throughout her career, Indumini has contributed to the professional training and development of surveyors, including work connected with curriculum development at the Institute of Surveying and Mapping. Her experience also extends to cadastral mapping and spatial information systems, which support land administration, national planning and other public-sector functions.

Established in 1800, the Survey Department is Sri Lanka’s oldest government department and serves as the country’s national surveying and mapping authority. Its responsibilities include cadastral and geodetic surveying, land information systems, geographic information systems, remote sensing and aerial and satellite mapping.

Indumini’s appointment therefore represents more than a change in leadership. It places a woman at the helm of an institution with more than two centuries of history while highlighting the growing participation of women in senior technical and public-sector leadership in Sri Lanka.

Her elevation also follows other recent breakthroughs for Sri Lankan women in senior government positions, signalling a gradual shift towards greater gender representation in public administration and traditionally male-dominated technical fields.