Readers' Forum
“Ratify the agreement”
It is sad that the Parsi Lying-in Hospital — a splendid and precious property in a prime locality of Bombay — is allowed to languish because there are no more takers for its originally intended purpose ("Ratify the agreement,” Parsiana, June 7, 2012). I’m sure members of our community will appreciate and support any honest and transparent deal that offers maximum benefit to society in general and Parsis in particular.
In your extensive report on the present state of affairs, however, I was pained to observe that there is no mention from any quarter about the importance of preserving the beautiful heritage structure, and voluntarily making this one of the inviolable conditions for any proposed transaction. Let not the lust for lucre desensitize us Parsis, who are otherwise in the forefront in the struggle to conserve and restore aesthetically beautiful and historically significant monuments and precincts in the city we so love and for which our forebears have done so much. We owe more to future generations than just one more swanky hospital; we owe them a reminder of true Parsi culture and character.
In your extensive report on the present state of affairs, however, I was pained to observe that there is no mention from any quarter about the importance of preserving the beautiful heritage structure, and voluntarily making this one of the inviolable conditions for any proposed transaction. Let not the lust for lucre desensitize us Parsis, who are otherwise in the forefront in the struggle to conserve and restore aesthetically beautiful and historically significant monuments and precincts in the city we so love and for which our forebears have done so much. We owe more to future generations than just one more swanky hospital; we owe them a reminder of true Parsi culture and character.
PHIROZE B. JAVERI
phiroze.javeri@gmail.com
phiroze.javeri@gmail.com
Heritage facade of Parsi Lying-in Hospital
Photo: Jasmine D. Driver
Photo: Jasmine D. Driver
The Managing Committee of the Parsi Lying-in Hospital responds:
The fact that the Parsi Lying-in Hospital has been in a state of disuse for the last several years is due to circumstances beyond the control of the trustees/managing committee. As we all know, the number of births in the Parsi community has fallen to as low as 16 to 17 per month. The deliveries would be spread over various hospitals and maternity homes all over Bombay, making it unviable to run and operate an exclusive maternity hospital or lying-in home for the female population of the community. Hence, the next best permissible use — that of a specialty hospital, the proposal mooted by the managing committee of the Hospital. Under this proposal about 600 to 800 orthopedic procedures per year are intended to be carried out free of cost for the members of the Parsi/Irani Zoroastrian community and that too by leading specialists like Dr Arun Mullaji, Dr Anant Joshi, Dr Aloke Sharma and others.
A trustee, by definition, is a person in whom the property is vested and includes a manager. The trustees of any public charitable trust are required to fulfill their obligations as contained in the trust deed. No trust deed would normally contain any obligations on the part of the trustees to be performed for preserving the heritage value of the trust property. Heritage conservation is a statutory obligation provided under the Development Control Regulations governing restoration and reconstruction of heritage properties in Bombay. The group of doctors which has undertaken the responsibility of reconstructing the Hospital will be statutorily required to follow the heritage guidelines. As it is the reconstruction of the Hospital is fraught with myriad problems — the lease from the collector having expired, the road set back, the height restriction, the retention of heritage façade, the payment of huge premia to the collector for renewal of lease, for development of the Hospital, for sub-leasing, etc. And, to add to those, yet another contractual restriction would make the project almost impossible.
In discharging their obligations, trustees need to act in the manner in which they would handle their own personal matters. Will a private owner place unnecessary restrictions and fetters on his personal property and thereby substantially reduce the marketability/consideration thereof?
The fact that the Parsi Lying-in Hospital has been in a state of disuse for the last several years is due to circumstances beyond the control of the trustees/managing committee. As we all know, the number of births in the Parsi community has fallen to as low as 16 to 17 per month. The deliveries would be spread over various hospitals and maternity homes all over Bombay, making it unviable to run and operate an exclusive maternity hospital or lying-in home for the female population of the community. Hence, the next best permissible use — that of a specialty hospital, the proposal mooted by the managing committee of the Hospital. Under this proposal about 600 to 800 orthopedic procedures per year are intended to be carried out free of cost for the members of the Parsi/Irani Zoroastrian community and that too by leading specialists like Dr Arun Mullaji, Dr Anant Joshi, Dr Aloke Sharma and others.
A trustee, by definition, is a person in whom the property is vested and includes a manager. The trustees of any public charitable trust are required to fulfill their obligations as contained in the trust deed. No trust deed would normally contain any obligations on the part of the trustees to be performed for preserving the heritage value of the trust property. Heritage conservation is a statutory obligation provided under the Development Control Regulations governing restoration and reconstruction of heritage properties in Bombay. The group of doctors which has undertaken the responsibility of reconstructing the Hospital will be statutorily required to follow the heritage guidelines. As it is the reconstruction of the Hospital is fraught with myriad problems — the lease from the collector having expired, the road set back, the height restriction, the retention of heritage façade, the payment of huge premia to the collector for renewal of lease, for development of the Hospital, for sub-leasing, etc. And, to add to those, yet another contractual restriction would make the project almost impossible.
In discharging their obligations, trustees need to act in the manner in which they would handle their own personal matters. Will a private owner place unnecessary restrictions and fetters on his personal property and thereby substantially reduce the marketability/consideration thereof?
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