Krimson project stillborn

After around 20 years of the Parsi Lying-In Hospital (PLIH) closing its doors to expectant mothers, the 120-year-old institution continues to be barren. Krimson Health Ventures (KHV) Private Limited that had expressed interest in developing the Fort premises into a specialty orthopedic and neurological hospital have aborted their offer.
"Completely disgusted with the state of affairs and the inordinate delay,” KHV director Dr Prakash Khubchandani in a letter dated November 3, 2015 addressed to the managing committee (MC) of the PLIH stated they were "terminating” the agreement. The MC however states they have "not accepted” the termination. The MC runs the Hospital while the trustees of the property are the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP).

The Parsi Lying-In Hospital

Noting they could not wait "endlessly,” Khubchandani "regret(ted) we cannot proceed.” Krimson requested "a refund of the security deposit of Rs 25 lakhs with interest accrued till date and (to) pay all the costs incurred by us, the details of which will be forwarded to you shortly… Incidentally, the total legal costs incurred by us on your behalf is around one crore rupees (US $ 1,51,294).”
The five-year-old proposal has been mired in controversy with the BPP initially opposing the proposal put forth by the PLIH’s managing committee. On February 20, 2015 the majority of the BPP trustees agreed to the proposal and consent terms were accepted by the Bombay High Court on April 30, 2015. However, former BPP chairman Dinshaw Mehta and trustee Armaity Tirandaz moved the Supreme Court this September challenging the proposal, prompting Krimson to finally withdraw from the project.
Mehta welcomed the termination informing The Times of India (TOI) of November 20, that Krimson withdrew "to avoid scrutiny by the Supreme Court (and)… so that no strictures are passed.” In an advertisement in the Jam-e-Jamshed Weekly of November 22, Mehta and Tirandaz alleged the "Krimson letter terminating the lease is simply a disguise under which they are trying to wriggle out of the embarrassment that would be faced by them had the SC gone into the merits of the case.” They proposed that the premises be converted into "a home for children with special needs,” a pet project of Tirandaz.
BPP trustee Noshir Dadrawala who also serves on the PLIH MC told TOI, "The Bombay High Court gave them (Mehta and Tirandaz) the opportunity to present a better proposal but they could not.”
BPP chairman Yazdi Desai who had initially opposed the proposal, and then supported it informed the daily, "We were talking to numerous hospital chains and none seemed interested.” Hence they accepted the Krimson offer.
The next Supreme Court hearing is scheduled for early December and the MC "will insist that the SC goes into the merits of the case (and)… Mehta and Tirandaz will be called upon to substantiate the allegations made by them,” stated the rejoinder from the MC in the same issue of Jamé.
Noting that Mehta has stated on "oath” that he had better offers, the MC indicated the Court may direct him to produce the proposals. Mehta had approached the Breach Candy Hospital and neurosurgeon Dr Keki Turel to take up the project but there were no concrete offers and both parties "abandoned their respective offers,” stated Khubchandani.
"In the event the Krimson transaction doesn’t fructify, the public at large and the Parsi/Irani Zoroastrian community will lose the golden opportunity of owning, free of cost, a fully equipped, newly constructed, state-of-the-art orthopedic hospital… In such an event, our community will also lose the opportunity of being treated free of cost by leading orthopedic and neurosurgeons,” stated the MC write-up.
Disclosure: Parsiana is a party to a suit for eviction filed by the BPP regarding the PLIH premises.