Palghar plot sale off

Palghar plot sale off
The Iranian Zoroastrian Anjuman (IZA) has reportedly nullified a sale agreement for its 963 acre Palghar plot with Viva Homes, a construction company run by the family of Bhai Thakur, the strongman of the Vasai-Virar region with a criminal record. The deal, valued at Rs 732 crores had created a controversy with several sections of the Irani community protesting. The then IZA president Mehrwan Irani who initially favored the proposal but then turned against the sale was told by his co-trustees to resign with "immediate effect” as he had "lost confidence of the members of the working committee” (see "Property proposals and protests,” Parsiana, April 21, 2013).

When Viva Homes failed to sign the memorandum of understanding (MoU), the IZA wrote to them in the first week of January 2014, terminating the deal, reported The Times of India (TOI) of January 14, 2014. A year earlier the two parties had agreed to the price of Rs 75 lakh per acre for the huge sprawl of land, with Viva to make an initial payment of Rs 108 crore to the IZA on signing the MoU. The company was unable to raise the funds and was reportedly seeking private investors for the purpose, mentions TOI. Though IZA president Khodadad Irani would not comment, some trustees said they decided to issue a 15-day notice to Viva and sign the MoU in December last, but when they received no response they proceeded with the termination letter.
Earlier, the Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) along with Tata Housing had offered to develop the land by establishing a national vocational university. "The Iranian Zoroastrian Anjuman Campus of TISS will offer professional courses in the areas of health, education, rural development, etc,” a letter from TISS had mentioned. Tata Housing proposed the development of a mixed township, including affordable housing and their executives had even inspected the land. "Reasonable concession will be given for housing/flats to less privileged members of the Irani and Parsi Zoroastrian community,” the letter added. However, IZA turned down the proposal.