AVFO enters new agreements without RA involvement

The Auroville Foundation Office (AVFO) continues to enter into institutional agreements without consulting or informing the Residents' Assembly (RA). At least 14 Memorandums of Understanding (MoUs) have been signed since January 2022. They are: with the University of Pondicherry (January 2022); with the Central Public Works Department (March 2022); with the IIT Madras (2023); with the Indira Ghandi National Centre for the Arts (February 2024); with the Centre for Development of Advanced Computing (May 2024); with the Department of Art & Culture, Pondicherry (July 2024); and with the Indian Council for Cultural Relations (September 2024).

As per a press release by Auroville Media Interface (formerly Outreach Media), during the recent visit from the Auroville Foundation to Gujarat led by Dr Jayanthi Ravi and 3 unnamed members of the Governing Board, MoUs were signed with: The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, Vadodara; with the Kamdhenu University, Gandhinagar; with the Indus University; with the Auro University, Surat; with the Sardar Patel University; with the Revenue Department, Gujarat; and with the Nehru Foundation Development Centre for Environment Education Society.

These MoUs remain invisible and inaccessible to the residents of Auroville. Despite multiple Right to Information (RTI) requests filed by residents, the contents of these MoUs remain undisclosed. Information about these agreements only reached the residents through social media postings and newspaper reports.