The threats to Auroville’s physical integrity

Auroville Today: How many private developments are there in the Master Plan area?

Paul Vincent: There are more than 150. There are three types of developments. One is layouts for private housing projects, some of which are encroaching into the Green Belt or are close to the edge of the city. Those we are tackling with the authorities, without much success until now. Then there are developments like restaurants, hotels and guesthouses built by villagers. We have a lot of these commercial developments along the road from Kuilapalayam to Certitude, which means that many of them are in the designated Green Belt. 

Thirdly, there are some private developments by Aurovilians and Friends of Auroville who have purchased land in the Master Plan area for themselves and who are developing either housing or hotels or guesthouses without any permission from Auroville. In addition, Aurovilians are purchasing private property outside the Master Plan area but in the surrounding area. Large parts of the area around Serenity, for example, are owned by Aurovilians. Aurovilians are also purchasing land elsewhere in India, like Kodaikanal.  The local people know this so they wonder why, when we say we still need land in the city and Green Belt, Aurovilians are not helping but buying land outside. 

Why should we be worried by these private developments, particularly those in the Master Plan area?

It is very simple. Mother established a very basic socio-economic principle for Auroville and that is that there would be no private property in the city. 

So having people residing in this area who have no relationship to the ideal will make it harder for us to achieve that ideal?

Of course. I believe that if no miracle takes place, the land situation means that the realisation of the project of Mother will be virtually impossible.

When did land threats begin?

Large scale land speculation began around 1994. In response, we had the first Residents Assembly meeting approving the basis of the Master Plan. Until that time the villagers did not believe we were serious about building a city, so the land had little value. But when we started building schools and large, permanent buildings, we gave a signal that we meant business, that we needed the land, so villagers with land realized they could wait for us to come to them and they could name their price. This was the beginning of the massive inflation of land prices in this area. 

However, land threats began much earlier. I have been involved in protecting the land of Auroville since 1975. In those days there was already a problem because a lot of Auroville land was given by the Sri Aurobindo Society to the villagers to use free of cost. They were harvesting our fruits, our trees. I managed to get much of it back in the area between Vérité and Dana.

In fact, we are still fighting cases of people who are claiming Auroville land because the Sri Aurobindo Society, which was in charge of purchasing the land in the early days, was using wrong procedures or not properly documenting the land they had purchased.  In fact, regarding the land all we are doing at the moment is fire-fighting. 

But we are as much to blame as the Society because we have not occupied and fenced land that had been purchased for Auroville, so allowing others to use and claim it. In other words, when it comes to protecting Auroville land there is a vacuum; there is a lack of attention and care as well as an adequate budget. When you have jewels in your family you keep them safe, and the land is like jewels: the majority of the land around here has a value of more than one crore an acre now. 

What has been stopping us from being more active in the protection of land?

Our land purchase groups for the last 25 years have not had people with real knowledge and capability. This is evident from the fact that they have not always bought land when and where it was needed. Some years ago, Naicker from Irumbai wanted to sell an important 300 acre plot in one piece to Auroville. He was offering the whole lot for 1.2 lakhs an acre, which was peanuts, but we wanted to bring down the price. We didn’t treat him with respect so finally he got fed up and divided it between his children. The last land that we purchased from the remnants of that 300 acres cost us 55 lakhs an acre....

But the land purchase group always say that we have never had enough money to purchase the land that we need. This is why they have to negotiate the best price and be selective in what they purchase.

We could have purchased much more land with the means at our disposal in the early days if we had treated the villagers differently, with respect, rather than sending them away when we thought they were asking too much. Since 1985 we have spent more than 200 crores on buildings in Auroville. If we had waited we could have used that money to purchase critical land, like land alongside roads. If we had made land purchase a priority then, we would have been able to purchase the majority of the land we needed, and prevented what is happening now with all the commercial activities and private developments on the Certitude to Kuilaypalayam and Edayanachavady to Kottakarai roads. What we need to prioritize today is not more roads or better connectivity but securing the land for Auroville. 

As to fund-raising, there are people who do this job professionally. Why don’t we employ professional fund-raisers and lobbyists? As to fund-raising, there are people who do this job professionally. Why don’t we employ professional fund-raisers and lobbyists? Some time ago, a well-wisher of Auroville offered to make a significant contribution in the form of procuring land for Auroville, but we refused this help. 

The problem is our lack of humility; we think we know better than anybody else. In fact, we could have done much better with the help of professionals.  

So what do you think should happen now regarding land purchase and management? 

The recommendation I made to the Governing Board is that land purchase should be taken out of the hands of Aurovilians and handled by professional people appointed by the Government. These people would be guided by the principles of the Master Plan and by advisers within the community. The job of the Auroville Land Board would only be to maintain what we have now, to ensure that what we have purchased is protected. The people appointed for this Land Board should be tested for their capacity to do the job: it should not be based upon ‘feelings’, upon whether or not we like them as people. These have to be people who really know the land and who understand the rules and regulations about land.

In 1965, Mother told Roger the town would be directed by a Municipal Council, a ‘committee of technicians’...

I agree, in regard to the land as elsewhere we need professionals who know their job. 

But there have been attempts to control land speculation and unwanted developments in the Master Plan area. For example, the Government Order (GO) of 2003 stated that a No Objection Certificate (NOC) from the Auroville Foundation was required for all future developments in the Master Plan area.

There are two parts to this GO. The NOC was to be accompanied by land acquisition by the Government of Tamil Nadu. Since there was no such acquisition, the GO became a worthless piece of paper. Even some Aurovilians don’t care about this GO as they have built property for private people inside the Master Plan area. 

For me the most important strategy now is to have a Master Plan approved by the Tamil Nadu Government. The big mistake we made in 1999 was to go to the Central Government to get approval for our Master Plan when land matters are a State not Central Government subject. 

Are you saying that our present Master Plan is not recognised by the Tamil Nadu Government?

Yes, it doesn’t recognise it yet, which is why we have to engage with them. At present, we are asking them to accept the Perspective Master Plan we have already prepared. But even if the State Government constitutes a New Town Development Authority and accepts the Master Plan, the real plan has still to be created. This would be a Detailed Development Plan (DDP) which defines what will happen on each plot of land. If the DDP is accepted by the New Town Development Authority it will be imposed and any violation in the future can be stopped. The question remains whether we have the people capable of making such a plan.

So what can be done about the present private developments within the Master Plan area?

Even if a DDP is approved, it will not be retrospective so we will have to negotiate separately with all of these private developments to purchase them. 

How do you think we should deal with those Aurovilians who own land within the Master Plan area?

There are two categories. There are ancestral lands which are owned by a family, one member of whom is an Auroville resident. With these you negotiate, you try to exchange or purchase the land. But there are also those Aurovilians who purchase land in the Master Plan area to make private developments. This is clearly against the ideal and people who do this should not be given any executive job in any working group in Auroville.

Some of them would argue that if they don’t buy land, particularly in the Green Belt where we don’t own 80% of the land, others would buy it who have no relationship to Auroville, so in this way they are helping to protect the community. This also seems to the thinking behind a proposed clause in the new Exit policy that allows Aurovilians to own private land in the Green Belt with the permission of the Secretary.

I don’t agree at all with this clause. And do you think Aurovilians who have purchased land privately are ever going to give that land to Auroville? You are dreaming if you think that. The problem is that people have fear; they don’t believe that Mother is here in Auroville, so they buy land to try to ensure their future. But tomorrow if there is a big financial crash, what is the value of this land?

Mother said we should buy the land but the villagers were also encouraged to donate land, presumably because of the feeling that they would be inspired by the ideal of Auroville. Is this still a possibility?

No one is going to give land to Auroville today. The local people know we are not yogis. We live an ordinary life, we are no better than anybody else. 

So what is your prognosis? Are you optimistic or pessimistic about the possibility of us solving the present land problems?

I am optimistic, but this is based upon us making a change in the way we manage and purchase land, and upon us coming together to protect it. For me, the biggest danger for Auroville regarding securing the land is not the villagers or outside developers: it’s us. We are not able to agree, to present a united front. At the moment, Aurovilians own land or are brokers and developers of land within the Green Belt for outsiders.  If we had an agreement on a land policy, if we were a true example of human unity, we would be vibrant and strong and nobody could come into this area. 

So while I am optimistic, we need help because we are in a very deep soup.