Back with a bang

The trustees of the Poona Parsi Panchayat (PPP) are celebrating a triple victory. Not only did the joint charity commissioner endorse their Aspandiar Baug scheme for ownership residences in two buildings at Lullanagar on a 99-year lease, rejecting the objections raised by Rustom Ginwalla, the community welcomed all seven of them back with substantial majority for another term of three years at the PPP trusteeship election on November 26, 2006. The third prong of achievement was that their legal challenge to the annual rateable value fixed by the Poona Municipal Corporation for the flats in the Maneckbai P. B. Jeejee­bhoy Dhunbai and Se­rene­bai Buildings has been acknowledged by the court which has reduced the annual taxable amount by Rs 2,400 per flat. Unless the Corporation appeals the legal mandate and reverses it, they will have to return the balance on the higher amounts that had been collected, with retrospective effect, note the trustees, adding, "We fought the battle for the residents. It wasn’t necessarily our job.”

Heading the list of those elected — as per the number of votes gained by each candidate — is Firdous Kayani, scion of the Kayani Bakery family that has historically been PPP donors, with 448 votes. Kayani has been officiating as chairman of the board of trustees through 2006. The PPP constitution mandates change of office every year among the seven elected trustees. Jamshed Bokda­walla, the current vice chairman, polled 418 votes. Lawyer Dara Irani, currently joint secretary came in with 415 votes while Tehmasp Bharucha, senior manager at the Zoroastrian Co-operative Bank received 393. Hoshang Dorabji of

Trustees of the PPP L to R (standing) Adil Sarondewala, Dara Irani, Firdous Kayani, Porusasp Mehta (seated) Hoshang Dorabjee, Tehmasp Bharucha and Jamshed Bokdawala

Dorabjee’s Catering Service received 358. Porusasp Mehta, currently treasurer, and Adil Sarondewala, currently secretary, got 306 votes each. The remaining five contenders – Rumy Mehta, Rustom Ginwalla, Auzarmin­dokth Irani, Boman Amaria and Sarosh Irani — all received substantially fewer votes at the election presided over by Sorab P. Mehta, financial consultant of the Grant Medical Foundation (Ruby Hall).

The past year had been one of some concern for the PPP with Ginwalla leading charges of technical faux pas and procedural errors on their part. He had challenged the rate of Rs 999 per sq foot advertised by the Panchayat for the intended Aspandiar Baug flats as well as the intended lease of 99 years. Majority opinion at the annual general meeting on June 10, 2006 had favored the trustees (see "The Poona Plaint,” Parsiana, July 21, 2006).

Indeed, the Jam-e-Jamshed Weekly of November 26, 2006 featured a long recommendatory letter signed by 15 prominent Parsis of Poona including Dr Keki Grant, Pesi Anklesaria, Meher Anklesa­ria and Dinshaw Anklesaria, some of them having been past trustees of the Panchayat. "We, the Parsi and Irani Zoroastrians of Poona are happy to note that all the seven sitting trustees have decided to re-contest the elections once again as a ‘panel of seven.’ This, in our view, is not just a sign of solidarity but a team spirit of trust and confidence in each other’s individual competence and integrity,” reads the letter, urging enlightened Poonaites "to turn out in strength and give a resounding boost of encouragement to this remarkable team by voting them back into their office for yet another round of progressive development and growth.”

Also in the same issue was an endorsement of the Aspandiar Baug scheme by Armaity Rustom Irani, granddaughter and legal heir of Aspandiar Rustom Irani who had donated the property to the Panchayat in the first place, on her own behalf and that of her sister Gordafrid.

Though the aim was achieved, only 596 voters turned out from among a list of 1,150 eligible voters. Though the total membership of the PPP is approximately 1,800 as per the trustees, the rest were not eligible to vote as their membership fees were in arrears. According to their constitution the fees need to be paid up two months before the date of the election, the trustees explained to Parsiana at their Dastur Meher Road office whence the PPP is temporarily functioning until their Mahatma Gandhi Road property is duly repaired and ready.

Estimates of Zoroastrian residents in Poona as hazarded by the seven trustees ranged between eight and 10 thousand (according to the census of 2001 there are only 4,196), a far cry from the current membership of the body. "People don’t come forward to become members,” they say. At the same time they are turning down applications for membership from Zoroastrians who have acquired a property in Poona and reside there a substantial portion of the time, declaring that according to their constitution only permanent residents can become members. They note that permanent residence must be proved by way of ration card, passport, income tax PAN card or electoral voter ID, rejecting offers of electricity/ telephone bills or receipts from housing societies. Indeed, they are emphatic that even occupants of the Maneckbai P. B. Jeejeebhoy buildings must provide one of the abovementioned proofs, stating that such is the requirement of their constitution. It may be noted here that such restrictions do not exist for membership of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet, the Delhi Parsi Anjuman or most other anjumans in India.

Moreover, having acquired a copy of the constitution Parsiana finds no such requirement mentioned. The membership clause merely states, "Any male or female adult person belonging to (the) Parsi Zoroastrian community and residing within the vicinity of Poona district shall be eligible to become the member of the said trust and eligible to apply for election of trusteeship and vote at the time of election and attend general body meeting of the trust.” Detailing the three classes of members and their corresponding fees, clause 4 of the constitution notes, "The trustees shall scrutinize the application received for the membership and accept the same. The decision of the trustees shall be final in this behalf and shall be taken by (a) simple majority. However, in case any application for membership is rejected, then such decision by the trustees shall be confirmed by (the) general body by (a) simple majority.”

According to one source of information, "Poona district” includes the area from Lonavala to Baramati. The term "vicinity” may widen that ambit. But that is another story.

An amendment of 2006 [clause 9A(1)] to the scheme also debars licen­cees occupying Panchayat properties or their family members residing there from contesting a trusteeship election. The trustees said they feared that once they became trustees, there would be a "ghérno gahanbar (family party)” with the possibility of changing the status of the licencees into that of tenants.