“NOWROZ BAUG CAN & SHALL BE RE-DEVELOPED” – DINSHAW MEHTA

The residents of Navroz Baug have recently raised a very interesting query on why the redevelopment of Navroz Baug has been stalled for over a decade.

You will recall that about a decade or so back, it was proposed to Redevelop Nowroz Baug being a Cessed property. After several meetings with the influential residents, the proposal got stuck as (i) the residents wanted the Chawl type passage way area outside the flat to be added to their flat area and (ii) top floor residents wanted the commensurate volume of their high ceilings.

Whilst Mr. Nusli Wadia was originally amenable to the above demands, it was felt by the other members to calculate the financial liability of the same that it would have.

At a Wadia Committee Meeting held after the above proposal was place, it was seen that this liability would make the Redevelopment not financially sound.

Mr. Wadia suggested that to offset the costs, the Trustees should carve out an area of about 20% of the total land area of Navroz Baug and sell it to a non-Parsi Developer at market rate for sale to non- Parsis which would fetch a far higher price than the subsidized rate at which the excess saleable area was supposed to be sold by Trustees to Parsis.

This selling 20% LAND AREA to non- Parsis was not acceptable to Dinshaw Mehta who threatened to move the Courts to stay the sale of any Trust property to non-Parsis. stop it and hence the Redevelopment project came to a halt since then.

Dinshaw Mehta firmly believes that no part of Parsi Trust property be sold to non-Parsis if it can be developed for community use. Thus he has opposed the sale of Parsi lying in Hospital to Khubchandani, or Bhabha Sanatorium to a developer and so on.

There remain a few community stalwarts who will not permit the alienation of any Trust properties to non- Parsis no matter the costs of litigation. These costs have in the past too been borne personally by Dinshaw Mehta.

The BPP is one of the largest landlords in Mumbai. Developers are all eyeing the BPP properties as Mumbai is scarce of open space. We must as a community unite to oppose sale of any BPP properties to non- Parsis.

The BPP should raise funds for construction of flats for Parsis only. This is possible as we have seen in the cases of Aderbad and Spenta.

The residents of Navroz Baug should consider revisiting the proposal. The buildings are old and need major repairs. The time for a redevelopment of the old buildings is now.

On speaking to Dinshaw Mehta, he has assured that post elections, he will take every step in his power to kickstrart this project as long as it is beneficial to the residents and the BPP, without any sale to non-Parsis.

Source: Parsi Junction