History, in fact, remembers the great administrator as the great ruler.

There is little chance of the Vadodara Municipal Corporation ever going down in history as a great administrative body, for here expansion is followed by more expansion. Sure, there is the mandatory gap of a few years between, but they are obviously inadequate to ensure the amenities for the populace.

Notwithstanding the barely-there services in the suburbs, the VMC is again seeking to further the city limits -- thereby bringing a number of Central and State government industrial undertakings under its authority on the grounds that the limits were last extended in 1975.

Considering the facilities in these areas (that is, the localities brought under the VMC in 1975), the civic body seems to be planning a major gamble. The roads in Gorwa are in a pathetic state. Town planning roads, finalised years ago, are yet to be laid off the Ajwa-Waghodia road. The Makarpura main road (part of National Highway 8) is made up more of potholes than smooth surfaces.

There's more: a large number of housing societies in Navayard, Gotri, Waghodia Road and even the ``posh'' Ellora Park do not have drainage lines. Residents of these areas have to make do with catchpits, which are cleaned weekly. Official figures indicate that nearly 30 per cent of the VMC area is not covered by drainage lines. Stormwater lines are yet to be laid in 60 per cent of the civic body's precincts.

The proliferation of unauthorised buildings on Waghodia Road, Gorwa, Warasia, Tarsali and similar places are also indicative of the inadequacies of the administration.

The VMC area now totals 108.22 sq km, up from 75.10 sq km in 1966; its population has soared from five lakhs in 1975 to 16 lakhs in 1996-97. Its road length in 1996 added up to 1,418.35 km; in 1975 it was a mere 480 km. VMC drainage lines now measure 600 km, almost three times the 1975-76 figure.Though infrastructure has grown, it is still not enough to meet the needs of the people living within the VMC area. Despite its failures, however, the VMC has pleaded its case for an extension of the civic limits before each new chief minister and urban development minister who has assumed office since, say, the '80s. None less than the Mayor Ratilal Desai has taken the lead this time, demanding that the limits be extended as the VMC was losing revenue providing services in localities like Tarsali, Harni, Bapod, Sayajipura and Sama.

VMC officials also feel they are providing facilities to but getting no returns from people dependent on employees of the industrial giants that dot the outskirts of the city. However, the VMC has not yet worked out how much it will earn if the limits are extended.

Neither has it planned how it will go about making a master plan for sewerage and storm water drainage or ensure the availability of water. According to officials, implementing the master plan will cost anything above Rs 100 crore, to be sourced mostly from loans; five years may elapse between planning and implementation.

Besides, maintenance of an increased area may become another pitfall for the VMC. It has a measly Rs 60 lakh annual budget for road maintenance.

Financing agencies have evinced no interest in the 14 model roads planned in the city.

Water supply may also pose a problem, though efforts are on to draw additional water from the Dev dam. The availability of Narmada waters is also uncertain.