Petition against FAMC decisions

Concerned residents have submitted a petition to the Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly (RA-Wcom), signed by 540 Aurovilians, regarding recent decisions made by the FAMC appointed by the Governing Board (GB-FAMC). The petition received the support of 527 Aurovilians, 8 Newcomers and 5 Auroville youngsters; one person did not support the petition. The petition condemned “the continuous arbitrary decision-making being done by the persons appointed by the Governing Board as the ‘FAMC’ in taking over assets (both tangible and intangible) created by the Auroville Community; the dismissal of three Aurovilians as executives of Afsaneh’s Guesthouse; and the dismissal of an executive of the Pour Tous Purchasing Service. The petition stated that the residents calling themselves the ‘FAMC’ do not enjoy the confidence of the Residents’ Assembly; that no valid reasons for these decisions have been given; that the principles of natural justice had not been followed; and that no proper process for dismissal of managers and executives as defined in the Code of Conduct (CoC), 2017, has been followed. The petitioners also object to the GB-FAMC’s policy of extracting monthly contributions from [foreign] Aurovilians in order to get a ‘no dues certificate’ to apply for a visa, which, said the petitioners, can be considered as blackmail, extortion and/or a bribe, is creating hardship and bad will, and is discriminatory. Also the GB-FAMC’s policy of no longer honouring previous waivers and imposing payment of community contribution dating years prior to the newly created policy was objected to. The petitioners called for an immediate halt to these actions and reversal of these decisions.