The Convenor

Shri Jashwant Mehta (an Architect & Consulting Engineer by profession holding Master’s Degree in Civil Engineering from the U.S.A.) being disenchanted with the existing political system because of its unsatisfactory and dismal performance, undertook an in depth study of the causes underlying the present political situation despite his belonging to a different professional fraternity. Way back in 1978, he had authored a book “Presidential System – A Better Alternative?”, which was widely acclaimed as making a substantive contribution to the debate on the issue. In 1990, following the appointment of the Expert Committee on Electoral Reforms by V.P. Singh Government, he wrote a booklet on “Electoral Reforms“ and he also actively participated in the deliberations with the Committee.

Subsequently, in 1994 based on an intensive study and analysis undertaken by him of the political situation prevailing in our country and the working of Governments and Constitutions of the liberal democracies of the world including the U.S.A., U.K., Germany, France etc., he wrote a book “Quest For A Better Democratic Alternative” which was released by Dr. C. Subramanium, former Union Cabinet Minister and President of Bharatiya Vidya Bhavan at a well-attended function. The book had received excellent reviews. In 1999, he joined hands with Late Shri Chimanbhai Mehta (former Union Cabinet Minister) and others and founded National Forum For Presidential Democracy. Both of them in due course came to a firm conclusion that for any such campaign to succeed in the long run and serve the purpose of bringing about the required change in political system, it would be necessary to have a political party solely committed to establish a truly presidential system as an alternative to the present form of parliamentary system of democracy.

In his own professional field of Civil Engineering & Architecture, he has contributed several papers and articles on housing, urbanisation and other related topics in professional journals and other publications besides authorizing a book on ‘High-Rise Buildings’, the first one on the subject in India. He was invited and had presented papers at the World Congress on Tall Buildings held at Paris (1979), Chicago (1985) and Amsterdam (1995) and also in World Conference held in Mumbai (2010). He had also chaired some sessions at all these venues.
He is a recipient of Gold Medal awarded by the Institution of Valuers.

Apart from his profession & business interest, he has also been associated with several social welfare activities. He is Founder Member and Ex-President of Eye Bank Association of India and is Chairman & Managing Trustee of Eye Bank Coordination & Research Centre (popularly known as EBCRC), Mumbai which is considered as a model community eye bank in Asia Pacific with a network of several eye donation centres in Mumbai, EBCRC has till date processed over 30000 corneas since its inception in 1995. He has been honoured by the International Federation of Eye Bank, U.S.A. for his ‘selfless devotion and dedication to Sight Restoration through Eye Banking’.

Co -convenor

Shri O. P. Monga, after his Mechanical Engineering in 1967 and a stint as a Government bureaucrat, he joined real-estate/construction industry in the year 1977 and later started his own business as real-estate developer in 1980. He is actively involved in environmental issues relating to the development and engaged in pioneering effort of promoting construction of ecohousing in Mumbai Region.

On the social front, he is deeply involved in the movement for Judicial Reforms in the country as an activist. He is the Managing Trustee and Chairman of the all India level, front line NGO, Forum for Fast Justice head-quartered in Mumbai and spearheading the movement across the country. The Forum as an umbrella organisation has more than 100 independent Societies spread across the country and engaged in the judicial reforms and other social objects, touching the lives of lakhs of people.

He is the Co-convener and Core Committee member of Forum for Presidential Democracy, a political Party with single point agenda of change in the current political system to the Presidential form of democracy, ushering in the game changing political and administrative reforms in the country.