RA decision recognising RA committees

On 10 April the Residents’ Assembly Service (RAS) announced the outcome of an Emergency RA Decision-Making (ERAD) Process initiated by the Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly (RA-WCom) to formally acknowledge Residents' Assembly entities as section 19 committees under the Auroville Foundation Act 1988. The decision making process ran from 28 March to 6 April.

As an introduction to the ERAD, the RA-WCom reminded the community that in the recent ruling from the Supreme Court, it was confirmed that the Residents’ Assembly (RA) has the right to have committees formed under Section 19 of the Auroville Foundation Act (AVF Act) that will “advise the Governing Board in respect of all activities relating to the residents of Auroville”. On 28 April, the RA-WCom held General Meeting to present this ERAD and clarify the reasons for it.

The RAS announced that a total of 598 valid votes were submitted online and in-person and the number of participants exceeded the 10 per cent (239 votes) quorum required to validate the decision. (According to the Master List data, the total adult population of the community eligible to participate in RADs was 2394 as of the month of April 2025.)

The ERAD proposal had two parts to it. The first part asked residents to vote on the statement, “We resolve to formally acknowledge the following entities as ‘Committees’ of the Residents' Assembly created under Section 19 of the Auroville Foundation Act.” These were: (1) the Auroville Council; (2) the Budget Coordination Committee (BCC); (3) the Entry Board/Service (aka Admission Committee); (4) the Exit Review Group (aka Termination Committee); (5) the Forest Group; (6) the Funds and Assets Management Committee of the Residents' Assembly (FAMC of the RA); (7) the Housing Board/Service; (8) L’Avenir d’Auroville (RA TDC); (9) the Land Board; (10) the Project Coordination Group (PCG); and (11) the Residents’ Assembly Service (RAS).

The outcome was that the Residents’ Assembly formally acknowledged these entities as Section 19 Committees of the Residents’ Assembly.

The second part asked the residents if they agreed with the statement, “These groups have been supported by collective funds generated by individual residents and income generating units of Auroville. Therefore, we further resolve that collective funds, including monthly contributions from individuals, shall be used to support the budgets of these groups and maintenances for their members.” This statement was supported by 98.9% of the residents who voted and therefore the Residents’ Assembly approved it and resolved that the above groups shall be supported by the community’s collective funds.