How much does a poor Parsi earn? Rs 90,000 a month!

Even if you earn close to Rs 90,000 a month and you’re a Parsi, you’re still poor! A Times of India article Poor Parsi redefined: One who earns upto Rs 90,000/m reports that the Bombay Parsi Punchayet (BPP) recently told the High Court that they have reworked the definition of a ‘poor Parsi’ as one who earns lesser than or Rs 90,000 a month.

According to the report, anyone who earns more than that amount is not eligible for a community apartment that can be bought at subsidised rates.

The BPP has redefined 'poor' in the Parsi community as one who earns up to Rs 90,000 a month. Representative image. Reuters.

The story was given a front-page space on Times of India, probably because inclusion of the word poor in the Punchayet’s setting of a baseline to add coherence to the process of allotting apartments.

The article caustically notes, “Incidentally, the Planning Commission of India had pegged the minimum sustenance level required for a poor person in an urban area at Rs 29 a day.”

The redefinition of the ‘poor Parsi’ category came as a response to a petition filed by one Rohinton Taraporewala (65), resident of Danahu, who challenged the BPP’s refusal to allot him a subsidised apartment in Panthaki Baug in Andheri and moved court.

To which, Dinshaw Mehta, president of BPP filed an affidavit saying “All applicants with incomes exceeding Rs 90,000 per month or with assets of more than Rs 25 lakh were to be eliminated.”

It was reportedly found that Taraporewala had property worth Rs 2.5 to 3 crore and hence was way off the benchmark of a ‘poor Parsi’. Initially, a ‘poor’ Parsi used to be one who earned less than or upto Rs 50,000 a month.

The reason behind Taraporewala’s fussing over a ‘subsidised flat’ when he already has property worth Rs 3 crore, can be figured out in the TOI article’s closing comment. “The affidavit states that the BPP flats at Panthaki Baug, each of which is between 732 sq ft and 760 sq ft, will cost between Rs 17.56 lakh and Rs 20.52 lakh depending on their size and location. The current market value of each is approximately Rs 80 lakh. The flats are being sold at prices prevailing in 2001 and cost one-fourth of their market value today.”

Given Mumbai real estate rates, anyone would give it a fight!