‘Needy’ Parsis see little hope in ‘flat’ promises of the Punchayet
“I had applied for a flat in 2005 when I got married. It has been 14 years and I am yet to get a flat. I would actively follow up on the matter and they would say that it would take some time but nothing ever came of it,” said Edward Dinyar Tirandaz (name changed on request).
Tirandaz lives with his in-laws in a tenanted flat — not of BPP — at Grant Road. “They are all false promises,” he said.
The Bombay Parsi Punchayet is the apex body of Parsis in the city and is considered one of the biggest landlords in Mumbai.
“But giving homes and tenancy is a gimmick. That is the general feeling in the community now that they are just fooling around. They generally allot flats to people they like or those who are known to them. If they are serious, they should amend the housing policy like the election scheme,” said Dr Viraf Kapadia, a vocal member in the community.
The BPP has various categories that define ‘needy’ Parsis. It could be someone who is homeless, a just-married couple, retired or ailing people, someone who has to travel a long distance for work, but not someone whose income is beyond Rs 1 lakh (both husband and wife put together). Discretion of trustees also goes into allotting the flats. There are nearly 5,000 flats in a dozen baugs or housing clusters in Mumbai.
“Some disenchantment is going to be there because we still have 750 people in waiting and people will be on the wait list for next few years,” said Noshir Dadrawala, a trustee.
Some other members felt that BPP needs to streamline. “BPP and other Parsi trusts urgently need to conduct due diligence before allotting flats to applicants. This will reduce litigation, which is current taking up a lot of time and money. It will also ensure that the deserving are given flats as per the tenets of the Trust. There are enough flats that can be given to all the needy, considering we are few in numbers,” said Zameer Palamkot, another member of the community.
DEFINING ‘NEEDY’
- BPP’s definition of a ‘needy Parsi’ is diverse.
- It could be someone who is homeless; a just-married couple; retired or ailing people, or someone who has a long commute to work, but not someone whose income is beyond Rs 1L (husband, wife together).
