Editorial Viewpoint
Holding on
At the forthcoming Federation of the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjumans of India (FPZAI) meeting this January 26 and 27, a report on the tedious and frustrating process of attempting to realize monetary returns from the properties of defunct or near defunct anjumans will be presented as it invariably is at every meeting.
The delegates will be informed of the steps taken, the local lawyers appointed, the meeting with government officials, members or trustees of the anjuman — if still existing and available — potential buyers and so on. Though the subject is dear to the heart of the community and has been on the all-India body’s agenda for over 25 years, the recoveries of monies and property are few and far between. Even the amounts received are not always available for utilization due to some restriction or the other.
The lesson to be learnt from the defunct anjuman committee experiences is that once the numbers reduce and the local residents are too old or feeble to manage affairs, the community can more or less write off the property. Recovery is almost impossible. The better option is to preserve, protect, utilize or dispose of anjuman/trust property while some individuals are still around and hopefully in the know of things.
One often finds anjumans either unmindful of safeguarding their properties or financially unable to pay for their maintenance/security. In a thriving metropolis like Bombay, the Doongerwadi land was encroached upon for decades. The property was reclaimed only when the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trustees decided to act against the squatters using the lure of money, legal redress and the threat of eviction.
In Navsari, the private road belonging to The General Fund of Navsari Samast Parsi Zoroastrians (TGFNSPZ) leading from the city to the Doongerwadi complex, a distance of a few kilometers, is entirely encroached upon. Only a few signposts, gates and parts of the raised plinth remain. When the intrusion was brought to the attention of the local trustees some years ago, they reportedly replied, "Apré su kari sakiyé (what can we do)?” No doubt in the past local governments connived with trespassers both for monetary gain and the creation of vote banks. But today some governments are keen to clean up their act and present a more respectful façade to the citizenry and potential investors. Without the enforcement of the rule of law, few would want to sink hard earned money in questionable or insecure investments.
On a visit to the Navsari Doongerwadi complex this January one found no one at the site. A visitor would have had a free run of the place. Providing meaningful security means a considerable expense. In contrast the Doongerwadi complex in nearby Valsad had personnel present when Parsiana visited during the FZPAI meeting in March 2011.
The lackadaisical approach in Navsari is partly due to no elections being held for decades for both the lay Navsari Malesar Behdin Anjuman and TGFNSPZ. This in spite of Navsari being one of the few cities in India where the Parsi population has increased thanks to the construction of 500 flats at Ava Baug by the late philanthropic businessman Shapoorji Fakirji Jokhi of Hong Kong and his family. Even today the Jokhi family continues to pour money into their ancestral hometown while the World Zoroastrian Organisation Trust Funds and related trusts run by Dinshaw and Bachi Tamboly and others source money for creating new residential properties, medical care, senior citizen homes, sanatoria and other causes.
In 2012, January to December year, Dinshaw says his trusts raised a record Rs 7,50,00,000 (US $ 1,363,636). To put this figure in perspective the BPP received only Rs 11,32,68,242 (US$ 2,059,422) in the financial year April 2011 to March 2012, according to the balance sheet published in the October 2012 issue of The BPP Review.
Thanks to the Jokhis and the Tambolys, Navsari has shown some signs of development. The contribution of the local bodies however is imperceptible. Even at the FPZAI meet their continued absence is conspicuous except for an occasional proxy holder present to support a faction in the FPZAI rather than the interests of Navsari.
In Surat where the Surat Parsi Panchayat is an active though unelected body, large tracts of the Doongerwadi estate are encroached upon. Only a small portion of the once vast estate has been preserved. The dakhmas and the bunglis now have a protective wall and security guards.
In Poona where Doongerwadi land has been encroached upon in the past, billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist Dr Cyrus Poonawalla donated over a crore of rupees (US$ 1,81,818) to build a wall around the remaining estate. The Poona Parsi Panchayat had also built residential housing in the vicinity.
In Thana, the Thana Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman has also constructed residential housing adjacent to the dakhma lands, ensuring a protective and watchful Parsi presence in the area. Once during a FPZAI meet of key anjumans, the Thana trustees received a phone call that an abutting Doongerwadi wall had been broken and a neighboring industrial estate was encroaching on their lands. Upon visiting the site it was learnt the wall had collapsed and the estate officials were willing to cooperate with the anjuman to rebuild it.
But what happens when there are no energetic and vigilant trustees around? How does one prepare for such an eventuality? Anjumans such as the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman, Mhow have made the FPZAI a custodian trustee so that should the local population of Parsis fall below a prescribed number, the all India body can intervene if required and at least ensure that no property is surreptitiously disposed of or usurped.
But the FPZAI does not have its own secretariat or full-time employees. The BPP offices and overworked staff are used for many of the FPZAI organizational activities which basically comprise holding biannual, annual or once in so many years’ meetings. Even the Fed Newsletter is defunct with no one willing to take on the responsibility of publishing the monthly, following the nudging out of the former joint honorary secretary and editor Keki Gandhi by the new BPP board of trustees that took office in October 2008.
Aside from the willingness and energy required to safeguard community assets, there is also the question of funding. The BPP ran a deficit of almost Rs 2,50,00,000 (US$ 4,54,545) for Doongerwadi for the financial year April 2011 to March 2012, as per a report in The BPP Review of December 2012. Of this over Rs 75,00,000 (US $ 1,36,363) was spent on "legal expenses,” presumably on the so called "renegade” priests case. With the mediation efforts in the dispute going nowhere, there is every likelihood of the matter being referred back to the Supreme Court. If that occurs another Rs 1,00,00,000 could easily be incurred in legal fees. How many anjumans have such a large kitty? And how long can even the BPP afford to spend crores on maintaining Doongerwadi with the diminishing number of bodies being consigned every year? With around 717 Parsis being consigned in 2011, the subsidy per corpse works out to almost Rs 35,000. And this is without factoring in the substantial wage increase agreed to for 2012-14 (see "BPP’s benevolence” page 16) or the doomed aviary project.
If the FPZAI could form an independent committee of legal and financial personnel to visit anjumans with their consent to help resolve difficulties in holding fresh elections, raising funds, utilizing community assets to generate income, the pan-India body would serve a more constructive purpose. An aroused and awakened citizenry is the best hedge against loss of community property.
The delegates will be informed of the steps taken, the local lawyers appointed, the meeting with government officials, members or trustees of the anjuman — if still existing and available — potential buyers and so on. Though the subject is dear to the heart of the community and has been on the all-India body’s agenda for over 25 years, the recoveries of monies and property are few and far between. Even the amounts received are not always available for utilization due to some restriction or the other.
The lesson to be learnt from the defunct anjuman committee experiences is that once the numbers reduce and the local residents are too old or feeble to manage affairs, the community can more or less write off the property. Recovery is almost impossible. The better option is to preserve, protect, utilize or dispose of anjuman/trust property while some individuals are still around and hopefully in the know of things.
One often finds anjumans either unmindful of safeguarding their properties or financially unable to pay for their maintenance/security. In a thriving metropolis like Bombay, the Doongerwadi land was encroached upon for decades. The property was reclaimed only when the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) trustees decided to act against the squatters using the lure of money, legal redress and the threat of eviction.
In Navsari, the private road belonging to The General Fund of Navsari Samast Parsi Zoroastrians (TGFNSPZ) leading from the city to the Doongerwadi complex, a distance of a few kilometers, is entirely encroached upon. Only a few signposts, gates and parts of the raised plinth remain. When the intrusion was brought to the attention of the local trustees some years ago, they reportedly replied, "Apré su kari sakiyé (what can we do)?” No doubt in the past local governments connived with trespassers both for monetary gain and the creation of vote banks. But today some governments are keen to clean up their act and present a more respectful façade to the citizenry and potential investors. Without the enforcement of the rule of law, few would want to sink hard earned money in questionable or insecure investments.
On a visit to the Navsari Doongerwadi complex this January one found no one at the site. A visitor would have had a free run of the place. Providing meaningful security means a considerable expense. In contrast the Doongerwadi complex in nearby Valsad had personnel present when Parsiana visited during the FZPAI meeting in March 2011.
The lackadaisical approach in Navsari is partly due to no elections being held for decades for both the lay Navsari Malesar Behdin Anjuman and TGFNSPZ. This in spite of Navsari being one of the few cities in India where the Parsi population has increased thanks to the construction of 500 flats at Ava Baug by the late philanthropic businessman Shapoorji Fakirji Jokhi of Hong Kong and his family. Even today the Jokhi family continues to pour money into their ancestral hometown while the World Zoroastrian Organisation Trust Funds and related trusts run by Dinshaw and Bachi Tamboly and others source money for creating new residential properties, medical care, senior citizen homes, sanatoria and other causes.
In 2012, January to December year, Dinshaw says his trusts raised a record Rs 7,50,00,000 (US $ 1,363,636). To put this figure in perspective the BPP received only Rs 11,32,68,242 (US$ 2,059,422) in the financial year April 2011 to March 2012, according to the balance sheet published in the October 2012 issue of The BPP Review.
Thanks to the Jokhis and the Tambolys, Navsari has shown some signs of development. The contribution of the local bodies however is imperceptible. Even at the FPZAI meet their continued absence is conspicuous except for an occasional proxy holder present to support a faction in the FPZAI rather than the interests of Navsari.
In Surat where the Surat Parsi Panchayat is an active though unelected body, large tracts of the Doongerwadi estate are encroached upon. Only a small portion of the once vast estate has been preserved. The dakhmas and the bunglis now have a protective wall and security guards.
In Poona where Doongerwadi land has been encroached upon in the past, billionaire entrepreneur and philanthropist Dr Cyrus Poonawalla donated over a crore of rupees (US$ 1,81,818) to build a wall around the remaining estate. The Poona Parsi Panchayat had also built residential housing in the vicinity.
In Thana, the Thana Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman has also constructed residential housing adjacent to the dakhma lands, ensuring a protective and watchful Parsi presence in the area. Once during a FPZAI meet of key anjumans, the Thana trustees received a phone call that an abutting Doongerwadi wall had been broken and a neighboring industrial estate was encroaching on their lands. Upon visiting the site it was learnt the wall had collapsed and the estate officials were willing to cooperate with the anjuman to rebuild it.
But what happens when there are no energetic and vigilant trustees around? How does one prepare for such an eventuality? Anjumans such as the Parsi Zoroastrian Anjuman, Mhow have made the FPZAI a custodian trustee so that should the local population of Parsis fall below a prescribed number, the all India body can intervene if required and at least ensure that no property is surreptitiously disposed of or usurped.
But the FPZAI does not have its own secretariat or full-time employees. The BPP offices and overworked staff are used for many of the FPZAI organizational activities which basically comprise holding biannual, annual or once in so many years’ meetings. Even the Fed Newsletter is defunct with no one willing to take on the responsibility of publishing the monthly, following the nudging out of the former joint honorary secretary and editor Keki Gandhi by the new BPP board of trustees that took office in October 2008.
Aside from the willingness and energy required to safeguard community assets, there is also the question of funding. The BPP ran a deficit of almost Rs 2,50,00,000 (US$ 4,54,545) for Doongerwadi for the financial year April 2011 to March 2012, as per a report in The BPP Review of December 2012. Of this over Rs 75,00,000 (US $ 1,36,363) was spent on "legal expenses,” presumably on the so called "renegade” priests case. With the mediation efforts in the dispute going nowhere, there is every likelihood of the matter being referred back to the Supreme Court. If that occurs another Rs 1,00,00,000 could easily be incurred in legal fees. How many anjumans have such a large kitty? And how long can even the BPP afford to spend crores on maintaining Doongerwadi with the diminishing number of bodies being consigned every year? With around 717 Parsis being consigned in 2011, the subsidy per corpse works out to almost Rs 35,000. And this is without factoring in the substantial wage increase agreed to for 2012-14 (see "BPP’s benevolence” page 16) or the doomed aviary project.
If the FPZAI could form an independent committee of legal and financial personnel to visit anjumans with their consent to help resolve difficulties in holding fresh elections, raising funds, utilizing community assets to generate income, the pan-India body would serve a more constructive purpose. An aroused and awakened citizenry is the best hedge against loss of community property.
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