Victimization or justification?
There is a tug-of-war over the continuation of Senior BPP executive Phiroze Patel’s employment
The BPP has been without a chief executive officer since November 2013 and with Patel debarred from the office, the BPP work is suffering. Complaints regarding delayed and disputed payments have been surfacing for several weeks.
As the Punchayet funds dip due to the "status quo” order on all properties issued by the Charity Commissioner (CC) payments are on hold for several welfare schemes such as the second child incentive program and the mobed amelioration scheme. The khandias and nasassallars have also issued a strike notice should their bonus not been paid 10 days prior to Navroz (August 18).
Former BPP chief executive officer Behram Dastur, who held the office from January 1998 to December 2007 stepped down. When asked by Parsiana on Patel’s performance termed him "very forthright. Very loyal. Gave time bound results.” Even when he was entrusted with World Zarthushti Chamber of Commerce work he "discharged his duties well.”
Parsiana publishes extracts from emails exchanged between Mehta and Desai regarding the continuation of Patel’s employment.
Dinshaw Mehta (left) and Yazdi Desai
Email dated June 30, 2014, from Desai to Patel
Please add the following items high up on the agenda of the board meeting dated July 1, 2014, in the first five items.
Consideration of action of terminating the services of Phiroze Patel, senior executive, housing, BPP, with immediate effect on the following grounds of insubordination, misconduct, criminal breach of trust, insult.
Patel is guilty of gross misconduct by misusing his position as senior executive, housing, BPP, in promoting and manipulating his family’s housing interests and this behavior alone merits his dismissal from service...
Continually and wilfully refusing to follow written instructions of four trustees on prioritizing agenda points.
Not circulating minutes drafted by trustee Munchi Cama which he was instructed to send to all trustees.
Not giving, on several occasions, housing files to a sitting trustee, on the excuse that the file requested for has been misplaced.
Protracted delay of over four weeks in giving the list of vacant flats asked for by the trustees.
Maliciously and wilfully manipulating, omitting and misrecording minutes and agenda items…
Threatening two sitting trustees that a criminal complaint will be filed against them if he (Patel) suffers from a heart attack…
Complaints from many beneficiaries for his rude and arrogant behaviour to them, on the phone and in person.
Further to consider invoking police action in case Patel refuses to vacate his office after termination of his services, as approved by the board.
To deliberate and appoint a CEO (chief executive officer) for the BPP.
Consider promoting and appointing the next in-charge in the housing department, Ronny F. Patel as senior executive, housing, BPP, in place of Patel.
Email dated July 7, 2014, 1.14 a.m. from Mehta to the seven BPP trustees and select staff members
At the board meeting of July 1, 2014, Yazdi tried to bring on board the matter relating to.. terminating the services of Patel with immediate effect… However this matter was rightly not allowed to be taken up since it was proposed by Yazdi alone by himself, when there were far more pressing issues the BPP needed to decide on and further that this proposed item stemmed from a pure personal vendetta and enmity and was an obvious victimization of an employee as he was perceived, albeit wrongly, as "my man” though he was only doing his duty by obeying the commands of all the trustees even where contrary orders were given to him.
I wish to implore upon my fellow trustees that this sort of vengeance motivated behavior whereby the staff have to bear the brunt of the infighting and disunity between trustees should be frowned upon. I reiterate as I have done so many a time that we have been appointed by the beneficiaries and it is them who we serve, and not any particular trustee’s bruised ego. There is no need for our personal differences on the board to spill over on helpless staff and others who have to bear all our infighting and differences doing tight rope walking to keep both sides happy only for the sake of their employment for their and their families’ bread and butter.
The grounds for attempting to remove a senior member of the BPP staff, Patel, as set out by Yazdi are ludicrous and I will point it out shortly. If this is the fate of our staff, I shudder to think what will be the fate of our beneficiaries if we allow our internal enmity to spill over on to them. Licensees of flats shall be at our mercy and if there is a particular licensee who supports either faction, he/she is at risk of being evicted from their home, just as Patel’s employment is attempted to be terminated, only because of our enmity. This in short becomes a sword hanging over our beneficiaries’ heads which cannot be accepted or tolerated. I recollect that when (one of the founders of the Alert Zoroastrians Association) Kersi Randeria’s feud with the present board was at its height, (co-trustee) Khojeste (Mistree) and Yazdi wanted to cancel the leave license of Zeree Jehangirjee of Dadar Parsi Colony, a strong supporter of Kersi and in whose name complaints were being filed before the Charity Commissioner and the courts. It was only because I refused to go along with them as we cannot misuse leave licence agreement to penalize somebody who we do not like and thus at my insistence the proposal to cancel his license was closed...
Out of sheer spite and hatred, Yazdi along with probable support of some trustees (are) trying to terminate (Patel’s) employment, taking away this man’s means of earning a livelihood because he does not support Yazdi’s ideologies or pander to his motives. Phiroze as all know is someone who calls a spade a spade and does not take nonsense from anyone. This is a trait that should be commended — not be the reason for his removal. Yazdi’s ‘crab mentality’ is known to all, however, it is absurd that some of the board are willing to allow this move. This action will have catastrophic effects…
It is a mere allegation out of thin air that Phiroze reserved a flat for his daughter. It is the duty of the trustees to manage the Trust properties. It is our duty to know what flats are available and which are locked. How one person can be blamed for our absentmindedness and lack of due diligence by trustees is beyond my understanding. Phiroze has been trying for a flat even before the new board was elected and aside from rejecting his claim only because of Randeria’s opposition, the earlier board did not find it deserving of dismissal…
Further, it was (BPP trustee) Jimmy (Mistry) who was insistent and had spearheaded allotment to his daughter, that we should look after our staff as they are not too well paid in any case and on Jimmy’s representation the board approved allotment to his daughter which however was not implemented due to Yazdi and Khojeste’s opposition. The member of the staff who Yazdi wishes to promote to senior executive of housing has also been given out of turn preferential treatment of an exchange of his flat from Contractor Baug at Mahim to a larger flat at Captain Colony, Haji Ali. Then why make an issue of his trying to exchange from Nirlon to Panthaky Baug? There are many instances where our staff have been favorably treated for allotment of flats as a compensation for the poor wages we pay them and it is illogical to use this as an excuse to oust him to satisfy the ego of Yazdi.
All points… which have come before 12 noon have always been included high on the agenda by him… However if the said item does not reach discussion then in the next agenda due to new important items coming up these items go down and Patel cannot be blamed for it. Further, till our late CEO Mehli Colah was alive, the agenda and minutes were completely within his domain but unfortunately after his demise and in absence of a CEO, all the senior staff as well as administration have to approach the chairman for advice as I am always readily available every day, unlike others who attend BPP office two hours in a week. Thus ultimately the final decision of the agenda is by the chairman and not Patel...
The minutes drafted by trustee Muncherji were not acceptable to me as it did not contain detailed discussions of what transpired on the item and I discussed with Muncherji that I preferred a detailed reporting of whatever was discussed as was being done hitherto so that history could judge each trustee’s role in a decision on an issue and, on his agreeing to my request, I did not allow Phiroze to forward his minutes to other trustees. Why then blame Phiroze?
Files that have been misplaced have been misplaced and one cannot penalize Phiroze or our staff for not giving the said file to a trustee. It was in the WAPIZ (World Alliance of Parsi Irani Zarthoshtis) manifesto to have the entire housing files computerized, however, not even once till date has there ever been an inclination from the WAPIZ trustees to fulfill any of their manifesto commitments. If files are misplaced then everyone in charge of filing should be pulled up and not only Phiroze. Interestingly, a new housing scheme was also proposed to be drafted by Yazdi and Khojeste way back in November 2013. I am yet to see the progress of this new housing scheme which would be proof of Yazdi’s dedication towards trust affairs over petty politics he is playing…
It is absurd if not laughable that a senior management role can be terminated because of a delay of four weeks in providing a list of vacant BPP flats. This issue is brought up by someone who spends two hours a week on BPP affairs! The list is made by members of the staff and then given to the senior management for checking before sending across to the trustees. I’m sure, being from the corporate world Yazdi would know how hierarchies work in offices. In fact Phiroze had explained that the delay was due to non-receipt of information from the office of the Wadia baugs. Let’s see if Yazdi has guts to approach the office of the Wadia committee to seek the details from their end.
If items are missing from the minutes, then each trustee has the right to make his changes in them before they are ratified and then passed by the board. He himself does not have the time to spend going through minutes which have been pending since January 2014. And though he calls for special meetings only to discuss minutes and then cancels the meeting at the last minute, he has hardly found any deliberate manipulation or misrecording in those minutes approved till date except improving grammar. Muncherji has been a witness to all the minutes ratified by Yazdi and I am sure he will agree with me that there has been no malicious or willful manipulation or omitting or misrecording of any of those minutes… the minutes of both BPP and Wadia committee prepared by Phiroze and Dhun Gagrat are first sent to me as chair of the meeting and thereafter to others after incorporating my corrections and changes…
It will be a new low at the BPP should Patel be victimized and terminated from his employment because of the infighting between the trustees.
Email dated July 7, 2014, 3.58 a.m. from Desai to Mehta and select staff members
It is shocking that as the so-called chairman of the apex body of the Parsi community you are unable to think straight and keep confusing issues.
Please make up your mind, whether you are attacking me, or defending Patel.
The issue of Patel’s dismissal from service is based on insubordination, misconduct, criminal breach of trust, insult and the gross misuse of his position as senior executive, housing, BPP, to manipulate and promote the housing interests of his family.
All your explanations are mere hogwash in a feeble attempt to distract from the established fact that Patel is a shame on the BPP and only a shameless person like you will defend him.
It is an established fact that when one’s contention is devoid of any merit, one writes long-winded pages of absolute rubbish. I am sure the board will confine your lengthy and irrelevant mail to the dustbin, where it rightfully belongs, and proceed to "clean up the mess” which Patel and you have created over the last 10 years.