Reclaiming the colonies

The banner headline on the front page of the Mumbai Mirror (MM, May 20, 2014) — "Wadias want back Parsi colonies their ancestors developed” — raised community eyebrows. Could the Wadia family lay claim to the five colonies bequeathed and conveyed to the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) in the mid-1950s?
The genesis of the dispute lies in the growing rift between industrialist and Wadia scion Nusli Wadia and the BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta. The Wadias claim that in the internecine battle between the BPP trustees all property transactions and other matters in the apex Bombay trust have come to a standstill. Four BPP trustees have filed complaints against Mehta before the Economic Offences Wing, a magistrate and the Charity Commissioner.
Though the properties vest with the BPP, the Wadia committee of management which comprises Wadia, his son Ness, Dhun Gagrat, and the seven trustees of the BPP look after the colonies. The day-to-day management is done by the Wadia staff.
According to the MM and BPP sources, at a meeting of the Wadia committee when Nusli proposed the takeover, of the five trustees present Mehta demurred but the others acquiesced. However, other BPP sources state that the four trustees remained silent and did not voice an opinion.

Dinshaw Mehta (left) and Nusli Wadia

Nusli is also riled because the Nowroz Baug redevelopment project has been put in cold storage. The residents were promised a proposal in writing but sources allege the plans have not yet been finalized.
The baugs were built between 1908 (Nowroz Baug) and 1956 (Ness Baug including annex), and comprised 63 buildings with 1,434 housing units, according to former secretary of the BPP Sapur Desai in his History of the Bombay Parsi Punchayet 1860-1960. The author notes: "following the death of Sir Ness Wadia, the trustees of the R. N. and N. N. Wadia trusts handed over all the baugs in their possession to the trustees of the Parsi Punchayet in 1957.”
The motivation for the plucky Wadia move was reportedly the BPP’s withdrawal of two crore rupees, to pay for the Mobed Amelioration Scheme, from the Rs 100-120 or so crores deposited largely from the transfer of tenancies. The BPP gives Rs 10,000 a month to full-time practising mobeds on condition they are not married to non-Parsis, do not perform funerary prayers for those being cremated, or perform the navjotes of non-Parsis (children of Parsi women married to non-Parsis) amongst other conditions.
The MM quotes an anonymous Wadia source as stating "though there is no provision in law as such the monies were never used for anything else other than the upkeep of the five colonies.”
"Nowhere in the law is it written that the revenue from these five colonies cannot be used for any other purpose… Even if there is a vote and I lose, I will take this matter to court,” Mehta told MM. "We cannot give up five colonies which house needy Parsi families (and many wealthy ones as well — editors). The Wadias are giants in real estate industry and we believe that they are eyeing the five colonies for commercial gains. Under no circumstances will we give up. We have been told that the Wadias might approach a court soon but we are willing to put up a fight,” Mehta countered. Nusli has legal opinions from leading jurists in his favor and is reported to have his papers ready to file in court.
If the matter goes to court the Wadias are unlikely to get back the colonies, opines a lawyer. But there is a possibility, he adds, that the court may vest the management with the Wadias alone instead of jointly with the BPP. But another source says that in the event of management being wrested from either party, the court would appoint an administrator. With both sides having deep pockets, another case may soon be added to the long list of existing community litigation.