Community updates

Different interpretations of the Auroville Foundation Act

Apart from differences regarding how development should happen, there are differences among residents in how they view the respective powers of the Residents’ Assembly and the Governing Board. The Working Committee appointed by the Residents’ Assembly (WC-RA) clarified that selection of members of the Residents’ Assembly for the Working Committee, the Funds and Assets Management Committee (FAMC), the Entry Board/Admission Committee, the Exit/ Termination Committee, the Auroville Town Development Council (ATDC) and the Auroville Council or any other group or committee constituted under section 19.3 of the Auroville Foundation Act, 1988, is the prerogative of the Residents’ Assembly, which is recognizedd in the Auroville Foundation Act as one of the three authorities of the Auroville Foundation. If any of the other two authorities, namely the Governing Board or the International Advisory Council, would like to propose membership for any such groups or committees, then the right authority to collaborate with would be the Residents’ Assembly, through its duly-selected Working Committee. The Residents’ Assembly has not delegated its right to select its group and committee members to any other body of the Auroville Foundation.

However, the other Working Committee supported by the Auroville Foundation office (WC-FO) believes that the Governing Board has the final authority and is the executive power of the Foundation structure, as it argues that “As per the Foundation Act, the Governing Board can, at any time, question Auroville’s internal policies, review them and create new processes, which is within their functions and powers. The RA’s role is advisory and to give recommendations."

More groups, individuals, replaced

On 18th January 2022 the Governing Board set up an Organization & Governance Committee (OGC) to look into the organization and governance of Auroville. It recommended the reconstitution of certain groups, like the FAMC and the ATDC, “to bring about more transparency, accountability, and productive utilization of the various assets of Auroville”. Consequently, the Foundation office has continued to replace members of key working groups selected by the Residents Assembly with those they feel are more attuned to its programme. Members of the RA appointed Funds and Assets Management Committee (RA-FAMC) and the Budget Coordination Committee (BCC) have been replaced in the past months. The team responsible for managing the Town Hall, has also been replaced, as have almost all the team of the Auroville Archives. Also two members of the Land Board have been dismissed and replaced by others.

The WC-RA has protested against the Office of the Secretary issuing several Office Orders “of dubious legality to dismiss and/or appoint some executives of units and services, as well as working group members who were selected through processes ratified by the Residents’ Assembly, without consultation with the relevant working groups of the RA and without following due process.” Pointing out that the eight new members of the Auroville Town Development Council (ATDC) Council were also appointed in a manner which violates the processes and procedures prescribed in the relevant Standing Order, in a letter of 1st July they appealed to the Chairman of the Governing Board “to halt this unprecedented and illegitimate abuse of power from the Office of the Secretary”.

The managers of Auronet, Auroville email services, and Mass bulletin have also been removed, citing a ‘police complaint’ based upon unsubstantiated claims of “anti-national and antigovernmental activities” being propagated through these media. They have been replaced by individuals nominated by the Foundation office, as has the longstanding manager of the Compat Forum (a long-established email forum consisting mostly of early pioneers of Auroville and other well-wishers of Auroville currently living abroad).

A number of residents have complained that they can no longer access their personal auroville.org. email accounts. There is also concern that these accounts are no longer secure. Consequently, residents have been advised to take out non-auroville.org accounts. The Auroville Residents Forum has also been set up to provide an alternative forum to Auronet. Meanwhile, a new initiative has been announced which aims to “ensure that the voice of the Residents’ Assembly and its legitimate working groups are represented within internal communication platforms and towards any external agency or media platforms”.

Parallel groups and their programmes

On the weekend of 25th, 26th June a selection process for Working Groups took place using the new RA-approved process. New teams, made up of ongoing and newly appointed members, were selected for the Auroville Council, the Auroville Town Development Council, the Funds and Assets Management Committee, the Entry Board, and the Working Committee. (see article on page 5)

This means that there are now parallel Working Committee, FAMC, and Town Development groups, one set created or supported by the Foundation Office, the other selected through an RA-approved selection methodology.

The different groups have been laying out their programmes. The Foundation appointed ATDC explained, “Over the last years, we have seen that the ever-changing membership of this office, coupled with a perceived divide between ‘Galaxy Plan’ based city implementation and ‘Ground Reality’ based city implementation, has brought a deadlock and has led only to pressure-based unblocking of projects. The newly appointed team of 7 Aurovilians, together with the Member-Secretary Dr. Seetharaman, is charged with the task of dispelling this perceived divide and of assisting the Governing Board to take necessary steps towards practical and eurythmic implementation of the Galaxy Master Plan at the earliest.” Their immediate goals include:

1) to identify and detail the development priorities for a projected growth of 12,000 new residents by 2025.

2) set up project cells for project development for large projects such as CIRHU, New Town Hall, Lines of Force, and others 3) to make the Crown a cyclable corridor by August 15 2022

4) to clear the Right-of-Ways (RoWs) as per the Master Plan by December 2022

5) to make the Crown and City Centre of Auroville free of motorized traffic by February 28, 2023

6) to develop a portion of the Line of Goodwill in Sector 5

7) to review together with FAMC, all existing farms and forests and to allocate/ reallocate lands as per the zoning regulations of the area as prescribed in the Master Plan.

8) to stop or revoke permissions for projects in the Green Belt which are unrelated to the prescribed zoning regulations, with exceptions given to temporary solutions to address issues such as encroachment.

The Foundation constituted FAMC defined its tasks as including

1) putting in place a collective shared accounting System

2) introducing one (collective) GST accounting gateway

3) reducing the present number of trusts to two, one for services and a second for income generating enterprises

4) creating a programme for expansion of Auroville farms

5) reviewing all land utilization for productive use

6) creating a start-up programme for new entrepreneurs with support both with space, finance and mentors

7) a similar programme to support existing units to grow and provide income for the community

8) Human Resource Service and an apprentice/volunteer programme

9) reviewing stewardship policies for all the Auroville assets.

On 14th June, a joint meeting of the Foundation-approved Working Committee, ATDC and FAMC identified projects for immediate implementation. These included development of the Line of Progress; farms and forest to be divided into smaller plots where temporary housing can be quickly built; land use to be according to the Master Plan; all public properties (roads, parks, public buildings etc) to be stewarded by ATDC; and a proposal for a new governance system.

Recently, the WC-RA had three meetings with members of the four other newly selected groups by the Residents’ Assembly (Auroville Council, Entry Board, FAMC and ATDC) to discuss topics of common concern.

The ATDC-RA explained that “The events of the last few months in Auroville have made it clear that appropriate planning and implementation are indispensable to solve the present divisive situation and to help avoid similar conflicts in the future.” They have been meeting and providing reports to the Joint Commission set up by the National Green Tribunal (NGT) to make a decision on the Crown road decision, “to get a better outcome for Auroville”, and clarifying whether present construction work can continue or stop according to the NGT ruling.

The four newly-selected groups also focused on possible ways to streamline the communication flow and interactions between the different working groups, and between the working groups and the community. One of the ideas that will be explored with the help of the Residents’ Assembly Service is the organization of a regular ‘Open House’ gathering during which residents can interact directly with members of the working groups. This will happen every Tuesday morning at the old Koodam office, and all residents are welcome to ask questions, share ideas, and discuss the challenges and opportunities that Auroville is currently facing.

In addition, a new Police Liaison team has been set up to assist the WC-RA with its work, as well as a Media Cell to fulfill communication needs, both internal and external, with liaison teams to gather and integrate the views of different residents and working groups. Auroville Media Liaison was launched on July 23rd and can be accessed via Instagram, Facebook and Twitter. The RA-appointed groups felt this was needed to ensure that the voice of the Residents’ Assembly of Auroville and its bona fide Working Groups is represented within internal communication platforms and towards any external agency or media platform.

Community meetings

The recently selected Working Groups by the Residents’ Assembly announced a communitywide ‘Meet and Greet’ on Saturday July 30th, 4.30pm-6.30pm at Unity Pavilion. They stated that the intention of the meeting is to “introduce ourselves, and listen to whatever you would like to share with us”.

The well-attended gathering started with a few extracts from Shraddhavan’s interview with François, followed by a short introduction to members of the five Working Groups. Then the Working Groups broke into small groups to give everyone the opportunity to ask questions, and voice suggestions and concerns.

The Working Groups appointed or supported by the Foundation Office also recently had a meeting to provide updates on new projects. Invitations to attend were only sent to a select group of residents and supporters.

At this meeting, a “1000-beds” project to accommodate 1000 new Aurovilians was presented that they want to realise in the next two years. They also want to welcome 100 new people a month in the very near future, and a member of the Foundation-appointed ATDC presented their city infrastructure and development plan to accommodate 12,000 new residents in the next four years. This would involve unblocking developments in sectors 1 and 2 (between Gaia and Vikas), and starting development of sector 5, near Aurodam, where the Line of Goodwill, housing 7,000 residents, would come. They want to start building this in the present financial year.

Meanwhile, on the initiative of the Secretary, regular Wednesday ‘circles’ are being held at Bhumika Hall to “create a space for more personal sharing”. At a recent meeting, the Secretary said, “I don’t think anyone is in disagreement with the fact that we are all here to see Auroville, Mother’s city, manifest. There might be some issues that one wants to go about it this way, another person the other way, and there is a scope to that, but all that can take shape once we start ‘walking the talk’. Because otherwise, if we all the time will be talking theoretically, if we went this way or that way, sometimes it doesn’t get us anywhere.

“We would be happy to hear your ideas, we want your insights, if there is anything that you feel you’d like to take up and contribute, then this Wednesday circle could become a forum for that kind of sharing and brainstorming. We could gather those ideas and some could be developed further by L’Avenir d’Auroville or other respective committees"

Town Hall incident

On 1st July, a member of the Foundation appointed Town Hall (ACUR) management team informed the Council that they should immediately vacate the meeting room in the Town Hall. The Council refused and community members have been holding a vigil to ensure the meeting room remains available for the Working Groups of the Residents’ Assembly. On 28th July, a member of the new Town Hall management team attempted to forcibly lock the room but this was resisted by the secretary of the Council. Both parties subsequently accused the other of violence.

The next day a group of approximately 250 Aurovilians came together in the Town Hall to express disapproval of the use of violence in Town Hall premises.

Legal matters

Four writ petitions have been submitted in the Madras High Court by Aurovilians against the Foundation. One challenges the dismissal of the executive of OutreachMedia and the appointment of new executives through an office order issued by the Auroville Foundation; the second challenges the appointment by the Auroville Foundation of members of the ATDC; the third the legality of the dismissal of three former Working Committee members appointed through a community-approved process by the other members of the Working Committee and these other members appointing new members in their stead. This petition also requests the High Court to recognize the due position and role of the Residents’ Assembly according to the Auroville Foundation Act and therefore the legitimacy of its duly selected Working Committee, and that the Auroville Foundation office not interfere in the work of the Residents’ Assembly and its emanating organs. The final submissions for these cases were handed in on Wednesday, 20th July. The community now awaits the judge’s verdicts, for which there is no timeline.

The fourth petition was filed to challenge the appointment through an office order issued by the Auroville Foundation of the members of the FAMC.

Also, on May 20th, First Information Reports were filed against three members of the WC-RA, one member of the Council and two other residents, based on a complaint made by the Under-Secretary. The complainant claimed that there was “obstruction of (Foundation-appointed) Working Committee members from entering office, illegitimate sizing and tampering of mail accounts by Auroville individuals who are against Auroville Foundation and wrongfully having the keys of the Auroville Working Committee office”. The complaint goes on to state that there is a suspicion “that these persons are engaging in deletion of incrimination and official [sic] data” and requests the police to “take appropriate legal action against the above mentioned persons who are indulging in criminal activities against Auroville Foundation and restore the office and mailbox in the hands of the lawful WCom for continuing regular duties”. The WC-RA has asserted that “the charges brought against these six residents have no substance and are an extreme attempt to intimidate the Residents’ Assembly and its working groups into submitting to the decisions and actions of the Office of the Secretary”. On 10th June, Anticipatory Bail was granted to these six Aurovilians.

Meanwhile, work on the Crown Road continues by the Central Public Works Department, which has been contracted by the Foundation office to do this work, both on the existing road, where the old paving blocks are being taken up, and in the Youth Centre area. An allegation has been made that more trees have been cut here despite the National Green Tribunal (NGT) court order, and it is also pointed out that the route of the Crown has been re-marked, shifting it five metres more into the Youth Centre area. The Foundation Office appointed ATDC explained that the first markings by the Road Service of the area were incorrect and this had to be remedied.

Two Auroville residents moved the National Green Tribunal again regarding unauthorized destruction of Bliss and Darkali forest prior to the Report of the Joint Committee set up by the court. Subsequently, the Secretary of the Foundation was served notice to attend the court to give an explanation.

The Office of the Auroville Foundation and its ATDC have also threatened legal action against residents who obstruct government works, like construction of the Crown, clarifying that “obstructing government works in India is a criminal offense”. It further warned that there would be “legal consequences” if residents fail to fill up all required fields of the Register of Residents form by 15th August.