Simmering in Surat

"A few disgruntled members of the community from Surat had used the platform of the Federation of Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India meeting on September 5 and 6, 2009 to launch a tirade against the administration of this august body. Pamphlets were distributed at the venue wherein distorted facts and blatant untruths were published,” noted a communiqué dated October 29, 2009 by Darayas Master, president of the Surat Parsi Panchayat (SPP), stating his reasons for being compelled to issue a clarification.

"In the last seven years this body of trustees took charge and (they)… have jointly and severally adhered to manipulative, fraudulent practices, disposing of valuable community properties at throwaway prices,” was the charge leveled in an eight-page pamphlet in English highlighting some of the salient features of their massive 20-page Gujarati missive dated July 20, 2009. Issued by disgruntled Surat residents Yazdi P. Katpitia, Yazdi H. Kapadia, Yasmin P. Wadia, Jahanbux N. Patel and Noshir A. Bhathena the leaflet was particularly critical of Master and three of his co-trustees Dr Dhunjishaw Dumasia, Yazdi Karanjia and Dr Minoo Parabia while sparing the other trustees, Jamshed Dotivala, Dr Homi Dudhwala, Hormazdiyar Patel and Homai Sethna. By tradition, the SPP trustees are not elected to office and once appointed are expected to continue for life except when resignations are voluntarily tendered or compulsorily sought as was the case in 2002.

The critics seem to be particularly irked by an article that appeared in the Jam-e-Jamshed of April 26, 2009, highlighting the good work undertaken by the SPP, perceiving it to be self-publicity. Master however insisted, "None of my trustees nor the undersigned have any interest in publicity but we are committed to do the good of the community in whatever capacity, whenever and wherever we can…The views expressed in that article are solely that of the writer whose identity I do not know.”

Master’s predecessor, the late Dr Sam Bhacca, who had been compelled to submit his resignation in 2002 by his abusive detractors (see "The Surat impasse,” Parsiana, August 2002) was now posthumously lauded whilst Burjor Antia, "guardian trustee” of the Bombay based Parsee Surat Charity Fund in whom vests the right to appoint and remove trustees from the SPP board was castigated.

Dakhma and bungli on the Doongerwadi property managed by the Surat Parsi Panchayat

Convinced that the present trust board is causing "irreparable loss to the community…such that there will not be left an inch of land for future generations of Parsis,” the disgruntled residents had approached the Joint Charity Commissioner (JtCC), Surat to protest against different land transactions:

At Moje village Karanj, survey No. 16, near the Umarwada Towers of Silence, land admeasuring about 18,750 sq m was allegedly given on rent for 34 months (and not 36 months to circumvent section 36 of the Bombay Public Trust Act that requires permission from the Charity Commissioner if land is given for more than 36 months) to Kisan Construction Company after the land was valued at Rs 49,61,250. Following protests by "vigilant Zarathushtis and a fair valuation report” the land was valued at Rs 7,50,00,000. In his 121-page order dated December 23, 2004 the JtCC had declared, "The present trustees of the Parsi Panchayat are unable to administer the trust in proper manner. They are transferring the properties of the trust in self-styled manner, and using their autocrat power they determined the value of the land in arbitrary manner… They are trying to circumvent the law…Trustees have not come with clean hands. The decision and the negotiations of the trustees does not seem to be of fair and good intention. The actions taken by trustees clearly show that the trustees have themselves selected the buyer and under collusion they did not invite public offer.” The trustees were directed to refund whatever amount the trust has received from Kisan Construction and take repossession of the land. "As a consequence thereof if there was any financial loss or loss of interest to Kisan Construction that too should be reimbursed from the pocket of the trustees personally.”

Responding to the "distorted facts” published by the "misinformed and disgruntled members of our community,” Master’s six-page clarification mentioned, "A 500 sq yards plot of land... at Karanj was rented to Dinshaw Ghadiali on monthly rent of Rs 1,250…in the year 1988 for the purpose of establishing a poultry farm. Neither has the poultry farm been established nor has any rent been received till date…and further 16,500 sq yards of land has been encroached upon by him and illegally sub-leased to Coca-Cola Company to be used as godown from which he reportedly reaps sizeable income. He has set loose his watch dogs on the previous trustees who had gone to inspect the site and even tried to intimidate the Panchayat officials by trying to run them down with his two wheelers. Under such circumstances the Panchayat has entered into 34 months’ agreement with one M/s Kishan Construction whereupon the said company had given a non-refundable deposit of Rs 1.25 crores and had agreed to pay a monthly rent of Rs 10,000. At that time a few of the beneficiaries had appealed to the Charity Commissioner and the deal was struck down whereupon the said Rs 1.25 crore was returned to Kishan Construction vide account payee cheque. The matter is pending in the High Court of Gujarat and being sub judice I would not comment on this matter any further.”

In village Vata, 2,06,000 sq m of land belonging to Patel School Trust "was to be disposed of for Rs 2,51,01,100” to Krishna Developers "by internal collusion.” Subsequently to sell "the said land to Ambaji Corporation for a consideration of Rs 3,00,10,000 an application was filed with the JtCC” but on objections being raised by "vigilant Zarathoshtis…the bid was raised to Rs 6,00,00,000.” According to Master, since Krishna Developers "could not deposit the stipulated amount to show their solvency…the Panchayat had made an MOU (memorandum of understanding) with Ambaji Corporation (for) Rs 3.01 crores in 2003. The MOU had clauses by virtue of which the CC could invite quotations through open tender…Because of steep appreciation of real estate in Surat during 2003-05 the floor price of tender was kept at Rs 5.33 crore and the bidding amount finally came to Rs 6.30 crores. Besides on the deposit of Ambaji Corporation the Trust earned an income of Rs 52 lakhs thereby reaping the benefit of Rs 6.82 crores.”

Likewise the trustees have been faulted for handing over possession of 15,681 sq m of land bearing Survey No. 98 at Umarwada to S. P. Corporation without obtaining the prior sanction from the Charity Commissioner earning a rebuke: "The representation of the trust for not giving public notice cannot be accepted. The intention of the applicant trust is not bona fide. If the intention would have been bona fide the trustees could have invited offers in sealed tenders by a public notice…”

The critics also refer to a plot of land at Umarwada that was to be sold to Swami Vivekanand Trust but by an order dated February 14, 2008, the MOU of October 27, 2005 was declared void and the trust instructed to repay the amount and not conduct any transactions of any nature without prior sanction.

Yet another instance refers to a plot admeasuring 15,000 sq m on Poona Kumbharia Road which was given on lease for 25 years to Laxmi Motors in 1963. "The present trustees seem more anxious to protect the lessee and give advantage to the lessee than to the trust,” comment the critics faulting them for compromising in the case initiated by Bhacca in 2001 for possession of the land and applying instead to the JtCC to grant a lease of 99 years.

Master’s clarification does not refer to these last three transactions but narrates a recent development whereby the Surat Municipal Corporation was proposing to introduce a road which bisected the area between the sachkar bungli and dakhmas. "This would have been an irreparable loss to the community in Surat. The board effectively presented its case at local, state and center level and with great difficulty managed to get this plan repealed…” The planting of 7,000 bawal saplings on Doongerwadi land about two years ago was ridiculed by the critics but Master maintains they have already grown to a height of 12-14 feet and they are in the process of extending the project by another 7,000 saplings.

The functioning of the R. D. Tarachand Parsi General Hospital and G. N. Mehta Maternity Hospital has been faulted on several counts: there is no RMO (resident medical officer) in the night hours, in times of emergency a doctor takes time to attend, sanitation is sub-standard, on the rear side of the hospital goats are being bred. "It seems that (the trustees) are simply waiting for the hospital to fall into complete ruin so that they can dispose of this property too,” allege the critics. But Master has a ready tabulation showing how the number of indoor patients which was 234 in the year 2001-02 had risen to 332 in 2008-09 while the number of outdoor patients had declined from 1,576 to 1,422 in the corresponding years. "It is very apparent... that the hospital has more or less maintained status quo during the last decade. It has been the endeavor of the board to increase the utility of the hospital to the community and to provide better health care at cost effective rates…It has to be realized that in an upcoming metropolitan city like Surat spread over approximately 200 sq km with members of the community scattered in this large area and with the growth of numerous private hospitals in the vicinity of one’s residence…the task of attaining healthy growth of the hospital (is) herculean,” writes Master citing their experience of offering no-rent premises on the hospital to a Parsi Zoroastrian to open a medical shop where medicines could be sold to community members at wholesale rates but to sister communities at retail rates for which no entrepreneur has come forward.

Regarding the bungalow in Allahabad bequeathed to the SPP, originally the affairs of this property were handled by Dosabhai Gandhi of Allahabad and on his death by Rustom Gandhi, the new president of the Allahabad Anjuman. The power of attorney given to Rustom Gandhi has been "withdrawn and now the present trustees seem to want to dispose of this valuable property at a throwaway price,” allege the critics. Master’s clarification does not allude to this property. But responding to Parsiana’s queries Rustom Gandhi wrote, "The SPP does not have a clear title to the property till date and the UP (Uttar Pradesh) government has claimed rights to the same and this is sub judice in the Allahabad High Court. When I was given a power of attorney I appointed a new lawyer because the situation so demanded and was following up vigorously to clear the title to the property till suddenly one day the power of attorney was abruptly withdrawn from me and I was asked to stay out of it... I do not know the details of the deal struck with some buyer/occupier, if any. But this would be a matter for anyone to assess by comparing the area of the property and the price being negotiated.”

Citing their reason for voicing their grievances in public Yazdi Katpitia and the four others note, "We regret to state that some four years before, on January 29, 2005 we had submitted our written statement of 13 pages in respect of the deteriorating affairs of the SPP to respected Burjorji Antia personally at the residence of Tehmurasp Pandole. Antia...assured us that he will do the needful. We waited for four years... Will now the ‘guardian trustee’ take proper steps to stop further loss to the community?”

Countered Master, "Antia has always been our friend, philosopher and guide and has always been a pillar of strength for us. It would be an exercise in futility for us to even enumerate the institutions in which he silently and diligently works for the welfare of the community and humanity…It seems the pamphlet has been brought out with a nefarious intention of creating a rift between the members of the past and the new board... Our predecessor trustees have all been men of great standing and we have the highest regards for them...We have always looked upon the former trustees Dr Khushroo Laskari, Dr Sheroo Sopariwala and Noshir Dabhoiwala with high regards. In fact Dabhoiwala has always been a pillar of strength for us, standing by us and doing silent work for our Panchayat, devoting his precious time, energy and money...”

In defence of his co-trustees whose reputation was smeared, Master noted, "Dr Dhunjishaw Dumasia is our senior-most trustee coming from a family that has been devoted to medicine for three generations... Dr Parabia is head of the department of bio-sciences and dean of science faculty at Veer Narmad South Gujarat University (who) has been an asset to the SPP in its efforts to improve the standard of its educational institu­tions...Yazdi Karanjia is one of our biggest assets. He has selflessly devoted himself in day-to-day affairs of our institutions...”

"Figures speak louder than words”

To counter the taunts of apathy, inefficiency and compliancy among the present trustees Master chose to reveal the SPP’s financial figures, comparing them to the year 2002 when the present board took charge. Starting with a trust corpus of Rs 16.83 crores in 2002, the board now shows Rs 37.95 crores, which works out to a compounded annual growth (CAG) of 12.31 percent. Their immovable properties which were worth Rs 2.77 crores in 2002 stood at Rs 6.36 crores in 2009 and investments worth Rs 16.87 crores have increased to Rs 38.03 crores in the seven-year period. "Figures speak louder than words,” summed up Master.

As per the audited statement of accounts for the last financial year ended March 31, 2009, the income shown by SPP during the year was Rs 3,67,36,995 of which Rs 1,45,81,110 was the yield from investments, Rs 39,39,118 by way of rent and Rs 14,41,041 by donations, Rs 12,60,971 being donations from individuals and Rs 1,80,070 being donations from public trusts. Income from other sources totaled Rs 1,67,75,726. From the expenditure totaling Rs 2,02,86,799 "on subject of the trust,” the largest amount was spent on education, Rs 1,49,42,894, followed by medical relief Rs 20,91,551, other charitable object Rs 19,91,606 and relief of poverty Rs 12,59,748. Legal expenses borne during the year were Rs 2,49,733.

Among the educational institutions run by the SPP, the Bai P. M. Patel Siganporewala Girls School whose assets were questioned by the critics showed the largest corpus of Rs 7,31,32,862, an increase from Rs 41,98,903 in the preceding year. Contributing substantially to the corpus of the trust was the amount, Rs 6,30,00,000, received from the sale of land. The largest expenditure was on education, Rs 16,64,957 of which the three highest were salaries, Rs 7,07,326, dearness allowance Rs 3,62,021 and house rent allowance Rs 1,33,421.

The corpus of the Surat Parsi Boys Orphanage now stands at Rs 2,57,58,170 with Rs 3,50,61,439 shown in investments and Rs 34,24,046 in immovable properties. The Nariman Girls Orphanage has a corpus of Rs 1,30,08,153, with Rs 1,57,52,329 in investments and Rs 8,70,565 in immovable properties. Of the Rs 17,49,242 spent on education by the Boys Orphanage, the maximum expenditure was incurred on diet, Rs 9,36,660, education, Rs 1,53,495 and medical expenses of students Rs 1,34,852. Donations during the year totaled Rs 4,56,563. The Girls Orphanage spent Rs 26,32,214 on education of which the highest items were Rs 18,43,945 on diet, Rs 2,12,382 on salaries and Rs 2,05,159 on medical expenses. Donations received during the year totaled Rs 1,36,858.

Yet another institution showing an almost three times increase in corpus from Rs 5,09,444 to Rs 14,34,444 is the Seth Sorabji Nauserwanji Parukh Polytechnic Institute. The trust that does not possess any immovable property showed an income of Rs 4,28,579 but no major expenses during the year. The K. H. Alpaiwala Industrial Institute for Parsi Women and Girls had its corpus increase from Rs 1,45,255 in 2008 to Rs 2,22,354 in 2009. Their donations during the year totaled Rs 1,15,622 and their largest expenditure, Rs 48,380, was on education.

Also extending educational aid is the Sorabji Burjorji Dastur Darab Pahalana Trust with a corpus of Rs 16,92,348. During the year it expended Rs 50,000 on education and Rs 24,980 on relief of poverty. The First Dastur Meherji Rana Trust Fund with a corpus of Rs 10,92,829 and annual income of Rs 99,858, expended Rs 53,090 on education and Rs 7,800 on relief of poverty

Of the three institutions dispensing medical aid or looking after geriatric inmates, the one with the largest corpus, Rs 4,93,05,684 is the Nariman Home and Infirmary. Their corpus increased from Rs 4,76,73,319 in the previous year. From their income of Rs 69,07,431 during the year, the three highest heads of expenditure were Rs 9,56,432 spent on diet, Rs 5,66,203 on salaries and Rs 3,77,041 on medical treatment.

The R. D. Tarachand Surat Parsi General Hospital’s corpus increased from Rs 3,44,26,938 to Rs 3,49,92,501. The income during the year amounted to Rs 31,59,081 with the three highest heads of expenses being Rs 7,99,280 on salaries, Rs 4,46,562 on committee and Rs 3,76,965 on medicine. For the Bai G. N. Mehta Parsi Maternity Hospital there was a marginal increase in corpus from Rs 5,07,370 to Rs 5,19,735. From their income of Rs 2,75,224, the three major expenses were Rs 27,840 on honorarium, Rs 14,255 on medicine and Rs 14,616 on electricity charges.

The Dastur Darab Pahalana Trust Fund with a corpus of Rs 12,09,762 and annual income of Rs 1,03,853 showed its highest expense of Rs 25,000 as institute help and Rs 7,500 as medical help.

On the housing front Master was happy to report that "113 new flats have been added towards the stock of flats rented out to poor and needy Parsi Zoroastrians, 87 new tenants have been able to reap the benefits and 14 old tenants have been rehabilitated from their old dilapidated building to the Panchayat’s newly constructed flats...” With this, the number of tenants of SPP which was 153 until 2002 has now increased to 240. Acknowledging that the Dhan Parin Sadan Building, Motafaram Memorial Building, Bai Mehrabanu Bamasipore Jarthosty Memorial Building, Marshall Munsaf Manzil, Bai Maneckbai Jejeebhoy Memorial Building and the Anjuman Awas had been initiated by the earlier team of trustees cumulatively amounting to Rs 4.16 crores, Master explained that the remaining Rs 2.90 crores required for the completion of these buildings was raised during the last seven years through "munificent donations from esteemed donors and through internal generation.”

At the time of the devastating floods that ravaged Surat in 2006, "hardly had the waters receded and the roads were not even motorable, even then the trustees visited the remotest villages around Surat,” proffering immediate cash amounting to Rs 2,18,500 to 94 needy Zoroastrians and five Parsi institutions, stated Master. On subsequent assessment of the situation, Rs 22,52,500 was disbursed by account payee cheques among 194 applicants.

Impressing on the community that "to administer a large trust is a herculean task and we humbly feel that we have done our duties as trustees (conscientiously) and honestly,” Master assured, "The board believes in conducting its affairs in utmost transparent manner. Any hamdin having any genuine query on any community issue is always welcome to discuss the same in congenial manner but we do not deem it fit to give a reply to slanderous pamphlets and would certainly not do so in future... If you feel that we have done the job reasonably well, do write to us as this would raise the spirit of my board in its efforts to deliver the best for the community.”