RA-WCom challenges decisions of the 68th GB meeting

A long read

On 20 April the Working Committee selected by the Residents’ Assembly (RA-WCom) shared with the community a letter it had written on 16 April to the members of the Governing Board, copied to the members of the Auroville International Advisory Council. The RA-WCom expressed its concern that “once again” meeting minutes had not been shared with the Residents’ Assembly or posted on the Auroville Foundation website in a timely manner and instead were obtained through an RTI. Additionally, it expressed “serious concerns” about multiple decisions taken during the meeting which reveal actions that “directly contradict both the Auroville Foundation Act, 1988, and the foundational principles of the Auroville Charter”.

The RA-WCom believes that the Governing Board has been overstepping its role as defined in the Auroville Foundation Act. The Act has not given the Board any power to initiate, impose, or execute programmes and activities without the involvement of the Residents' Assembly.

Specifically, the RA-WCom objected to the mischaracterisation of Auroville's planning history by the Chairman in his opening remarks, which is “being used to justify unilateral development without proper consultation with the Residents' Assembly”. The RA-WCom also took issue with the minutes characterising Auroville “as having ‘tended towards an antithesis of its core objectives’ and becoming ‘a refuge for some persons with vested interests’”, which it considers to be “empty and false statements” that “ignore and dismiss the contributions of thousands of residents over 56 years, the results of which can clearly be seen by all”.

The RA-WCom further objected to the implementation of the Master Plan without proper consultation and stated that physical development must include meaningful participation from the community, not forced implementation of a now outdated plan.

The RA-WCom observed that the centralisation of services in the form of an ‘Auroville Public Space Service’ and ‘Auroville Communication Service’ under the Secretary's direct control again bypasses the letter and spirit of the Auroville Foundation Act and Auroville’s Charter regarding the commitment and involvement of the residents.

Regarding the admissions process, the RA-WCom noted that the decisions of the Board contradict the Auroville Foundation Act, which explicitly states that the Residents’ Assembly shall “allow the admission or cause the termination of persons in the register of residents”. Moreover, the Admission and Termination of Persons in the Register of Residents Regulations, 2023, have been stayed by the Madras High Court, and therefore the Board’s decisions are bordering on contempt of court.

The RA-WCom found it particularly troubling that the Board is proposing to amend the Auroville Foundation Act to, as quoted from Board meeting minutes, “remove the anomalies in them which are misused by a section of the Auroville community to stall the realization of the City”. The RA-WCom states that “this characterisation attempts to frame the Residents’ Assembly’s legitimate exercise of its statutory rights as ‘misuse’ and suggests altering the foundational legal framework rather than working within it as intended. This is further evidenced by the refusal of the Governing Board and its Secretary to recognize section 20 of the Act by ignoring the residents who have been chosen as representative members to the Working Committee through an RA approved process … and instead interacting with unelected members preferred by the Governing Board.”

The RA-WCom also objected to the Board’s disregard for the vision of development as outlined in Auroville’s Charter, stating the current approach to development focuses solely on conventional physical manifestation while disregarding the experimental and research nature of development that would foster human unity.

“The forceful implementation of infrastructure without community participation fundamentally contradicts this foundational principle … the GB refuses the collaboration offered by the residents whilst continuously maligning them by claiming that they are obstructive, possessive and anti-development.”

The RA-WCom, closed its letter stating that it is ready to work together with the Governing Board in a spirit of mutuality and collaboration, as intended by the Auroville Foundation Act.