3 trustees move Charity Commissioner against BPP’s tenancy rights

MUMBAI: The protracted dispute within the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP)—the apex body of the Parsi Zoroastrian community in India and Mumbai’s largest private landlords -- over converting leave-and-licence agreements into tenancy has escalated

MUMBAI: The protracted dispute within the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP)—the apex body of the Parsi Zoroastrian community in India and Mumbai’s largest private landlords -- over converting leave-and-licence agreements into tenancy has escalated. Three of its dissenting trustees approached the Charity Commissioner on Friday to initiate proceedings against the four majority trustees over the decision to grant tenancy rights to long-standing residents.

Minority trustees Anahita Desai, Adil Malia and Hoshang Jal initiated proceedings against BPP chairperson Viraf Mehta and the other three trustees—Armaity Tirandaz, Maharukh Noble and Xerxes Dastur—challenging the process adopted for the proposed conversions.

The move follows a June 9 decision by the majority trustees to allow long-standing residents of BPP colonies to seek conversion of their leave-and-licence agreements into tenancy – a decision that could benefit nearly 1,900 licensees across 22 baugs, accounting for approximately 40% of the trust’s housing stock in Mumbai.

In a joint statement to the community, the three minority trustees said the move resulted from an impasse in discussions, noting that 38 of their questions remained unanswered and essential documents and letters were withheld.

They also alleged that the majority trustees proceeded with registering tenancy agreements for three applicants despite these unresolved concerns. The registrations were completed on October 5, covering one occupant in the Dadar colony and two in the Goregaon colony. While about 100 applications have come in so far.

In their proceedings, the minority trustees argued that the proposed conversion raises questions about the protection of the BPP’s Parsi-only housing covenant and the trust’s obligation to preserve properties in accordance with the original intentions of donors and settlers who wanted a Parsi-only enclave.

They also questioned whether covenants will remain legally enforceable under tenancy arrangements, given the statutory eviction protections of the Maharashtra Rent Control Act, 1999, and flagged the potential risks to the trust’s control over its properties during redevelopment, specifically concerning rehabilitation and future ownership rights.

Additionally, the long-term financial burden of heavily subsidised tenancies threatens the trust’s capacity to manage maintenance and other obligations, they said and demanded that any conversion undergo rigorous legal scrutiny, a comprehensive financial assessment and strict alignment with original trust deeds and donors’ conditions.

The majority trustees defended the conversion, arguing that it would provide long-term housing security to community members while retaining safeguards to protect the Parsi-only housing covenant.

Mehta termed the dissenting group’s move unfortunate and rejected the allegation that their concerns had not been addressed.

“Whatever pertained to the matter has been explained in detail. The problem is that they are demanding certain documents which cannot be traced, as some of them are nearly a century old. Making the absence of these documents the basis for approaching the Charity Commissioner is not right,” said Mehta.

Meanwhile, the first tenancy agreements were registered earlier this month, with the initial exercise covering flats allotted without security deposits.

One of the three occupants who received tenancy rights earlier this month defended the majority trustees’ decision. “The move (of the dissenters) does not make any sense – the proposal to grant tenancy was approved by four trustees, including the chairperson. In principle, the minority should respect the majority decision instead of derailing the process,” the occupant told HT.

“Our primary prayer is that the process be stayed and no further tenancies be granted until the matter is decided,” Malia said.