In article , David
Boothroyd writes
Bazalgette was responsible for the whole of London as Chief Engineer of
the Metropolitan Board of Works, the now thankfully forgotten institution
of London government which became so infamous for corruption,
overspending, incompetence and waste. I hope the programme does not
present the MBW as being anything other than the worst institution of
government ever foisted on the people of London.

The MBW was the first authority with authority for overall planning in
London and was set up because although London had the largest population
of any city in the (western) world, any civic planning (and there was
precious little) was performed at a local or parish council level. It
only took a few cholera epidemics for government to realise that an
overall co-ordinating body was required to plan public health, hence the
MBW.
Yes, it became infamous for corruption, overspending, incompetence and
waste, but that pretty well sums up how the GB and Empire worked during
the 19th century, with governance based on patronage and special
interests.
Bazalgette comes over as a surprisingly decent and honest man given
the people he worked with. Maybe he just stuck to the engineering and
let someone else cope with the political stuff like negotiating with
building companies, buying up land, evicting tenants, etc.

--
Martin @ Strawberry Hill