The Baroda city that is seen today is the result of years of transformation, with the major transformation being carried out during the late 19th and the early 20th century. With the advent of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III‘s visionary ideas the city started transforming itself into a pool of cultural hubs.
These dramatic changes in the administration inevitably laid the foundations of the City Improvement Trust. A great deal of investment was made in the creation of the provincial capital between 1877 and 1910. A range of administrative offices were set up, to plan, manage and maintain the city. By 1892, the city municipality was set up to oversee its maintenance. With the financial streamlining and governance structures being established, city plans were drawn up between 1904 and 1910, and finally, the City Improvement Trust was set up.
Baroda city was the Capital of the State which was accommodating all classes of people ranging from permanent residents, immigrants, frequent visitors to sightseers and so on. The other causes of influx making overpopulated city were the development of industries and other means of employment. A dreadful outbreak of plague, lack of sanitation and few drainage lines to take care of the needs of the city was the situation of the State in 1898-99. And, the worst followed with the historical 1900 famine. The city had an excellent water supply system in early 1890s, but it seems little attention was paid to the drainage system. However major portion of the city was served with gravitation sewers of the aggregate length of 44.53 miles. But things were still to be completed. This, along with garbage and congestion in the city, had led to sanitation and health issues.
A massive effort to transform the city had become necessary and the visionary Sayajirao Gaekwad stood up to the challenge. To rejuvenate the city, the Baroda City Improvement Trust was formed on the lines of a similar trust in Mumbai (then Bombay) in 1910. While the trust began its work in right earnest, the city also had the distinction of being among the few in the country to get help from Patrick Geddes, a world renowned figure of that time. Geddes came to the city on two occasions, first in February 1915 for three days and then again in October 1915 for three more days. In this short span, the master planner decided to be done. He used the term ‘diagnostic survey’ for the process of identifying the problems in the city. Geddes then began what he called a ‘conservative surgery’ of the city. The process involved creating open spaces, adding vegetation, ensuring that the city remained cleaned and making broader streets. Interestingly the places where jubilee Baug and Suryanaran Baug stand today were congested localities earlier. As per suggestions made by Geddes, these were opened up. The same happened with several pols (lane) and other congested areas in the city. All this was done with surgical precision. The Baroda Government instructed the Commission to formulate a set of building rules for further extension of towns and cities in the State. The’result was that Baroda became one of the cleanest cities of Gujarat. The trust did not remain a permanent entity. Once the purpose was served, the trust was wound up, after fifteen years of its existence i.e. in 1925.
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All of the city’s infrastructural needs were looked after by this trust which basically acted as a municipal body. This trust is the reason we see the development of facilities in Baroda before any other city!
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