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Jamshed S. Wadia a.k.a.     Dinshaw Mehta(?) Writes

To:
The Editor,
Mumbai Samachar.

Dear Sir,

As you are aware, at present there is a stay order issued by the Charity Commissioner on the Trustees of BPP against fresh allotment of vacant flats in an application filed by some members of AZA u/s 41D of Bombay Public Trust Act for removal of Trustees. However many may not be aware that the stay has been continued mainly because two of the Trustees, Mr. Dinshaw Tamboly and Mr. Maneck Engineer disassociated from the decision of the Board of Trustees and separately appeared before the C.C. requesting him that no fresh allotments should be allowed by the present Trustees as all of them are soon to resign and new Trustees are to be shortly elected under adult franchise scheme for the first time in the history of BPP.

Due to the highlighting of this controversial housing allotment by the Parsi Press, more than a hundred complainants and /or disgruntled non-allottees of this free flat largesse by the BPP appeared before the Charity Commissioner vociferously demanding allotment of flats to them irrespective of their bonafide needs or their ranking and merit points in the long waiting list of applicants for charity housing and otherwise calling upon the Charity Commissioner to appoint an administrator and take over the whole BPP including allotment of flats within his ambit.

The BPP at present has over 900 applicants for free charity flats on its waiting list. These applicants are divided into 3 main categories:

1. B -BI - Single persons seeking life partners or engaged couples for whom 30% of vacant flats are at present reserved for allotment on proof of marriage. Earlier priority over all applicants was given to engaged couples with imminent marriage dates with a view to encourage early marriage and procreation.

2. B-2 - wife below 40 years for whom 40 % flats are reserved.

3. E - Residenery applicants for whom 30% flats are reserved.

In each category an applicant is given marks based on various parameters like date of application, congestion, number of dependents, dilapidated building etc. and based on their marks, they are accordingly ranked in order of merit and when their turn comes and flats are available, they are allotted flats subject to no objections being received when their names for allotment are published in the Parsi Press.

Out of these 900 wait listed applicants about 140 of them appeared before the Charity Commissioner at everyone of the several hearings pleading their grievances. Some are genuine and deserving whilst others are only out to grab a free flat if they can even though not deserving at all or way down the merit ranking list and yet demanding out of turn flats from the Charity Commissioner.

The Charity Commissioner advised the Trustees to interview the complainants and consider their cases at their entire discretion. However it is now reliably learnt that the AZA under threat of removal of Trustees application are trying to force the Board of Trustees to allot all the remaining flats only to the 140 complainants whether deserving or not and whether they are in turn or not and whether there are others with higher merit points and superior ranking.

At present the BPP has about 90 flats available for allotment of which 52 are in the building almost nearing completion at Goregaon complex and whose occupation certificate is shortly awaited. Out of these 90 vacant flats, about 30 flats have been reserved for those applicants whose applications were earlier already processed and allotted by the Trustees and names published in Parsi Press almost a year back. Most of them are engaged couples who have got married on the Trustees' assurances of allotting flats on proof of marriage.

The remaining 60 flats are now under pressure from AZA who are now proposing these flats to be allotted solely to the complainants even if out of turn irrespective of their need or their ranking to the detriment of the other 900 applicants who may have higher ranking and merit points and be more deserving but since they did not complain to the Charity Commissioner their cases are being sidelined.

This to my mind is gross injustice being perpetrated on the 900 patient but uncomplaining applicants by the Trustees under threat of removal action by AZA. It is my humble request to the Trustees that since discretion is of the Trustees to consider the cases on merit as laid down by the Charity Commissioner himself, they must not succumb to these illegal and uncalled for pressures from AZA and allot out of turn applicants to the detriment of more deserving and higher rated applicants whose only fault is that they did not complain to the CC against the Trustees.

It is further learnt that at every meeting with the AZA, some of the Trustees had propounded the view that crash construction programme needs to be undertaken not only by BPP but by other Trusts having lands and buildings to meet the demand of the outstanding waiting list of 900 applicants. However it seems that Trustee Mr. Maneck Engineer has vociferously opposed any fresh construction programme on the ground that in 10 years time there will be more flats than Parsis and flats will lie vacant and hence there is no need for further construction. What Mr. Maneck Engineer has to understand is that to-day the demand is there for 900 additional flats (aside from one two fresh applications being received everyday) and if in future they become vacant then the asset will always remain with BPP which can be encashed for the benefit of the community. Construction of new buildings increases the wealth of the community and his opposing these policy is detrimental to the interests of the community.

The ongoing construction and preservation of Goregaon colony of ultimately about 200 flats is only thanks to a few Trustees and your goodself as most of them had decided to sell off the whole plot a few years ago, as you will recall.

In fact there is enough FSI (including TDR) available at Panthaky Baug and Bharucha Baug whereby the whole wait-listed applicants can be housed if the Trustees have the will to undertake mass construction projects. Finance is not a problem as BPP has enough funds from security deposits of flats as well as income expected from ownership bldgs. A & B of Panthaky Baug and proposed ownership building at Godrej Baug.

I therefore call upon the Trustees to execute mass housing projects with renowned architects like Hafeez Constructor to house the 900 applicants waiting since decades.

However the present proposal of allotting the 60 odd flats only to those who complained to the Charity Commissioner will lead to injustice to the silent majority who did not complain to the CC for whatever reason in which case I suggest that the proposal of Mr. Tamboly and Mr. Maneck Engineer before the Charity Commissioner by way of their sworn affidavits that present Trustees should not allot any fresh flats and let the new Board to be elected in October 2008 do the allotment should be implemented by all the Trustees. In the alternative these 60 flats should be allotted strictly according to their merit rating points and ranking in each category and no out of turn allotment be done merely because of threat perception of action u/s 41D for removal of trustees, whose term in any case will end in October 2008 once fresh Trustees are elected.

Yours faithfully,

Jamshed S. Wadia