Issue Nº436 – News in brief

In early September 2025, a number of long-standing residents and duly-appointed community representatives received emails from the AVFO’s ‘Admissions and Termination Scrutinizing Committee’ and ‘Admissions and Terminations Registry’. They were told they had 14 days to respond to a variety of accusations or risk being removed from the Register of Residents. Of the 35 residents who received these letters, most have lived in Auroville for more than 20 years, some of whom were among Auroville’s early pioneers. The RA Working Committee commented that “These letters are filled with baseless accusations, written in a tone that is hostile, intimidating, and devoid of humanity. The language and the attitude is aggressive, accusatory, and completely against the spirit of Auroville’s Charter and our aim of human unity.” The International Advisory Council stated, “We cannot resist the conclusion that the show-cause notices list convoluted accusations couched in dramatic language so as to build a case for termination against those residents whom the current administration, for whatever reasons, happens to be unhappy with.” In response, residents initiated a petition denouncing the committee’s baseless allegations and asking for an immediate withdrawal of these notices. The petition concludes, “Constructive engagement – not punitive exclusion – is the only path forward for a collective experiment such as Auroville.”

The continued pressure from the AVFO on visa-dependent Aurovilians since 2021 has significantly affected international interest in joining Auroville. In the past three months, only 23% of those entering through the Entry Board process and only 30% of those entering through the AVFO ‘ATR’ process are of non-Indian origin. Also, over the past 3.5 years, a significant number of Aurovilians from the international community have left due to mounting challenges related to visas, work projects, and means of sustaining their livelihoods.

The Governing Board, in its 69th meeting held on 8 July 2025, has constituted the Appellate Committee to hear appeals arising from rejection of applications for admission as a Volunteer, Newcomer or Aurovilian, or removal/ termination of individuals from the Volunteer List, Newcomer List, and Aurovilian List / Register of Residents (RoR). The members are Shri Aravindan Neelakandan, Professor Goutam Ghosal and Professor Sarraju. Invitee: Dr Nirima Oza. A mass mail explained that all appeals shall be submitted in writing to the Admissions and Terminations Registry, duly signed by the appellant. The appeal shall be decided by the Appellate Committee within a period of thirty days of receipt of the appeal, and the decision of the Appellate Committee to confirm or revoke the decision appealed against, shall be final and binding. 

On 16 October, a group of 15 people came to Afsanah Guest House, including executives of the Auroville Security Services appointed by the AVFO and broke open the doors of the office, the dining room and Room 7. Computers and documents were removed. The guest house team members were prevented from collecting their personal belongings, which were not returned to them. The team thanked those who had supported them during the past two years of, as they put it, repeated attempts to forcefully takeover the Guest House “without following due process or principles of natural justice”.

However, a member of the FO FAMC stated this was a “lawful repossession of Neeraja Guest House, formally known as Afsanah Guest House, by Auroville Foundation Auroville”. And that despite repeated directives and formal notices, two individuals had refused to hand over the keys of the Afsanah Guest House and had continued to occupy and operate the premises without authorisation. He also alleged that over the past years the guest house has been “grossly mismanaged”, an allegation the replaced team said is “simply untrue”, listing all the improvements they had made over the previous three years. 

The Auroville Dog Shelter (ADS) team was replaced without explanation via an Office Order issued on 30 August 2025. The GB and AVFO plan to build a VIP road directly through the shelter and through three established Auroville farms. The now-replaced ADS team were promised a new portion of land and some financial support to relocate the shelter, which it seems they never received. The team had proposed to relocate the shelter to a neighbouring plot.

Since the news that the AVFO has signed an MoU with IIT Madras, agreeing to hand over 100 acres of Auroville’s certified organic farmland in order to build a ‘sustainability campus’, support for Annapurna Farm has poured in from many different quarters. The number of signatures on the petition currently stands at more than 16,000 and is growing daily.

Several letters have been sent to the Governing Board questioning the plan, including letters from Auroville International and the International Advisory Council. Ramsubramanian, a senior consultant at the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations, also shared supportive posts on his social media.

A new oversight committee (the ‘DCC’) for the AVFO ‘Donation Channeling Group’ (‘DCG’) has been announced via an Office Order. Since the ‘DCG’ was put in place by the AVFO, the number of administrative tasks that have to be fulfilled in order for units and trusts to receive their donations have greatly increased. Additionally, several units and services have reported that their donations, particularly foreign donations, have been held up or blocked entirely, meaning that they are unable to receive them and therefore to function normally. This is despite the donations being given from entirely legitimate sources. It seems that the AVFO FAMC and their auditors have also banned crowdfunding platforms, cutting off another vital source of income.

The Governing Board recently approved the stationing of 15 Central Reserve Police Force (CRPF) members in Auroville for five years “to safeguard Auroville’s development zones and uphold law and order”, as well as the development of a new security complex with a “master control room”. The CRPF is India’s largest paramilitary force, used for internal security and counter-insurgency operations. This decision marks a sharp digression from the Mother’s vision of Auroville as a place without army or police.

On 28 August 2025, the Gujarat-based Rashtriya Raksha University (RRU) and the AVFO inaugurated the “RRU-Auroville Security Training Academy (RASTA)” at Bharat Nivas. According to media reports, the academy aims to provide “security education” combining “technical mastery with Auroville’s spiritual wisdom” and will offer certification courses in firefighting, cyber security, drone operations, and basic military training. The Secretary described the academy as embodying “youth empowerment, community safety, and national resilience”. The media report claimed that the academy will run programmes for “600+ students across Auroville schools”. On 1 September, the RA WC sent a letter to the GB expressing “deep concern” about the initiative, stating it was launched “without consultation with, or consent from, Auroville’s Residents’ Assembly”. Some of their main concerns were that associating Auroville with military-style training contradicts the Charter as Auroville’s ethos is “non-political, non-sectarian, and non-militaristic”; that the 15-day timeline left no room for mandated consultation with the Residents’ Assembly; and that framing the academy as a vehicle to “fuel the local economy” reduces Auroville to a commercial enterprise.

The newspaper The Hindu reported that the Auroville Foundation Governing Board held its 70th meeting on 1 October 2025, to mark the conclusion of its four-year term. According to a press release, at the meeting chaired by Governor Ravi, the Board took stock of the governance and development of Auroville in the last four years, and several important matters were deliberated upon and decisions taken to bring about further clarity of the administration of Auroville.

According to a report in the Times of India, on 22 October residents of Kuilapalayam and Edayanchavadi villages objected to the Foundation’s decision to cut large trees along the highway connecting the two villages. On learning that the trees were being cut, they gathered and protested, forcing work to stop. Police arrived and held peace talks with the villagers. In a release, the Auroville Foundation clarified that six trees along the highway were being removed to lay the Outer Ring Road, and that “The Foundation strictly followed all legal procedures.”

A press release stated that the Auroville Foundation has proposed to launch a tram and toy train network in collaboration with the Indian Railways to improve internal transportation in Auroville. The tram will serve as a low-speed electric commuter mechanism around the Crown, helping the town transition away from fossil fuel vehicles to collective electric mobility. Phase 1 of the project encompasses a 2.355km segment, and is ready for detailed engineering and execution. The toy train network will serve the kindergarten belt of the town. It will span a 595-metre route through the Kindergarten Zone, featuring 12 carriages, with each coach embodying qualities such as aspiration, joy, and harmony. The goal is to stimulate children’s sense of wonder, spatial awareness, and independence while providing a safe, low-speed mobility mode.

The EcoService has announced a much-needed extension of their regular waste pick up from residential, commercial and institutional establishments. Recently, there has been a growing amount of litter dumped along the roads, pathways and in the bushes within the city and in certain open spaces. By the beginning of November, the EcoService will have a dedicated service to clear this litter and waste from areas that are hard to reach by their larger vans. This service will initially concentrate on clearing waste from within the designated City Area (and not along the tar road) and will gradually extend to the greenbelt.

In August 2025, the AVFO ATDC announced their intention to allocate almost five acres of Evergreen land in an effort to expand the EcoService operations. EcoService, which currently functions out of a 0.75-acre plot and sorts Auroville’s waste in an effort to reduce landfill, is seeking a larger plot of land for, as they describe it, “sorting, baling, shredding and storage, plus 1 acre for a sanitary-waste incinerator. Modern conveyor lines, balers, and a heated press will turn hard plastics into tiles and panels, while a 500 kg/hour incinerator handles unavoidable sanitary scraps. The larger site allows safer traffic flows, volunteer housing, training rooms, and fire-safety systems, positioning Auroville to cut landfill reliance below 5 percent.”

While the efforts to extend the EcoService’s capacities are largely welcomed, they come at the cost of denuding another 4.75 acres of carefully planted Auroville forest. 

Coffee Ideas, a unit that was established in 2008 with the vision to spread knowledge and foster a community around Indian specialty coffee, won a number of awards at the 2025 Global Coffee Awards Origin Competition held in Houston, Texas in October. Judges awarded a gold in the flat white dairy category (Single Origin Traditional Processing Method), silver in espresso blend, as well as awards in other categories. 

Expressing that “one of the essential values of Auroville is collaboration – a spirit of shared responsibility and transparent communication”, the FO Working Committee has introduced a new initiative aimed at improving dialogue between Auroville residents and working groups. From now on the FO WC will host a Residents’ Meeting once every month, open to all community members. These meetings will offer a space to share updates from working groups, discuss current challenges or proposals, collect feedback from residents, and, “most importantly, listen to what matters to you”. They invite anybody with a topic which needs attention, a question they would like answered, or a group they would like to hear from to contact them. For, as they put it, “Our goal is to foster a culture of inclusivity, openness, and responsiveness, where every resident feels informed and engaged in Auroville’s evolving process.” 

The Human Resources Service has announced the Auroville Alignment Programme which “is a collective effort to help each one of us – whether arriving, aspiring, or already rooted – live the ideals and purpose of Auroville in a more conscious, practical way”. Different programmes are planned for volunteers, Newcomers and Aurovilians. The latter programme, which will happen quarterly, is termed ‘consecration’ and will involve concentration, plenary and keynote sessions, breakout discussions and readings from Sri Aurobindo and the Mother.

YouthLink is moving its office space from Virundhu Canteen (Town Hall) to the Kailash building. As they put it, “the move comes as part of our ongoing efforts to strengthen youth engagement and collaboration in Auroville”. Some of their plans for the new space include vocational training and skill building; a youth residency programme which will provide transitional housing and mentorship to young Aurovilians, volunteers and newcomers; community activities like hosting workshops and cultural evenings; and offering guidance for youth navigating their role in Auroville and beyond. 

On Sunday 12 October the Farewell team hosted an Open House to update everyone on their work and its role and function in the community. They explained that “This is an impersonal work which demands sensitivity, equality, good practical sense, readiness to serve, emotional stability, acceptance of any bodily condition, receptivity to the inner reality, attention and plasticity and goodwill towards all. We share a sense of dedication to Mother and Sri Aurobindo, seeking to express it in the Spirit of Auroville so that our understanding and experience of physical death in our individual and collective adventure may grow ever more conscious and free.” And they emphasised that “we are keen to remain free from all opinions and alignments that, in our collective life, may still interfere with our harmonious progress. This service is for all in Auroville”.