BPP: Accounts, at last

The Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) chairman Yazdi Desai has been telling all and sundry that the premier Bombay trust is incurring a loss. In a letter to the secretary of labor on September 16, 2018 explaining why the BPP should be exempted from paying bonus, he stated that "in view of the precarious financial position of the Punchayet, it is unable to make any disbursement of bonus to its employees for the calendar years 2017 and 2018 (see "Learning from Parsiana,” Events and Personalities, Parsiana, October 21, 2018).
But as per the BPP’s accounts, published in the November 18, 2018 issue of the Metro Junction, their income and expenditure statement shows a surplus of Rs 2.74 crores. The trust had cash and bank balances of Rs 100.94 crores at the end of March 2018, and an accumulated surplus (excess of income over expenditure down the years) of Rs 34.07 crores.
While income at Rs 40.74 crores grew up five percent over the previous year, expenditure increased by six percent to Rs 37.99 crores. Donations received were Rs 4.09 crores. Rents and occupation charges collected from colony residents was Rs 11.54 crores.
The largest increase in expenditure was on legal fees, from Rs 78.41 lakhs to Rs 1.34 crores, an increase of 70%. Salaries and wages grew by 10% to Rs 12.20 crores. Gratuity payments included in salaries and wages alone increased from Rs 41.58 lakhs to Rs 1.12 crores (169%) as many staff members have superannuated.
The BPP accounts at one time used to be published and sent to donors. They also appeared briefly in the erstwhile BPP Review. Aside from community activists who obtain and unofficially publish the balance sheet and income statement, the BPP accounts are not made public. BPP trustee Noshir Dadrawala told Parsiana on November 27 that "Personally, I feel we should have the audited accounts for the last three to five years on the BPP website.”