Central Public Works Department (CPWD)

On 20 March, the Ministry of Education, responding to two Right to Information requests dated 25 and 26 February, sent the applicant a copy of the Minutes of the 68th Meeting of the Governing Board (GB) of the Auroville Foundation held on 5 December 2024, which have since been widely distributed in Auroville.

In the previous issue of Auroville Today we published the major considerations and decisions of the Governing Board as reported in the minutes of its 67th Governing Board meeting held in Auroville on 31 May 2024.

In response to a Right to Information request of 7 December, 2024 the Department of Higher Education of the Ministry of Education has sent the applicant on 3 January the minutes of the 67th Governing Board meeting held in Auroville on 31 May, 2024.

The RA-TDC informed the community that on 27 January it had sent a letter to high government officials addressing ongoing concerns about non-compliance by the GB-ATDC and the Central Public Works Department which executes the road building in accordance with the Auroville Master Plan (Perspective 2025).

The Auroville Foundation Office (AVFO) continues to enter into institutional agreements without consulting or informing the Residents' Assembly (RA).

On January 10, the members of L’Avenir d’Auroville, the Town Planning Council appointed by the Residents’ Assembly (RA-TDC), informed the community that it had sent a letter to high government officials addressing critical concerns about ongoing developments in the Auroville project area.

Road construction continues across Auroville, with at least 9 sections of road currently being built. Most of the construction work is being completed by CPWD; Michael Bonke’s team is building one section of the Crown, which starts at Savitri Bhavan and goes towards the PTDC.

A detailed evaluation report published in November 2024 by Satprem Maïni, Director of the Auroville Earth Institute, highlighted several concerns regarding the ongoing construction of a bridge at Darkali for the Crown Road project.

A 6 metre wide road has been cleared through Auroville’s Northern Forest Area (NFA), in order to gain access to the area that has been earmarked for a 30 meter tall hill to be built from the soil excavated from the Matrimandir Lake.

The Central Public Works Department (CPWD), in its E-Tender Portal, stated that in the period from June 2022 to June 2024 an amount of almost Rs 60 crores (approximately US$ 7.3 million) has been allocated for 50 different civil works in Auroville.

Dr. Jayanti Ravi, the Secretary of the Auroville Foundation, recently has looked into the possibility to build the remaining section of the Crown Road with all components being manufactured in Auroville and using Auroville resources for its construction.

Both before and since the Supreme Court stayed the NGT verdict, land clearance, including tree-cutting and transplantation, has taken place across Auroville.

Induja, a young Auroville architect, talks about how she came to Auroville, the work which inspires her and her hopes for the future.

The Town Development Council appointed by the Residents’ Assembly (RA-TDC) informed the community that over the past months it has sent out letters to the Auroville Foundation Secretary, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD) and the GB appointed Town Development Council (GB-ATDC) regarding non-compliance with the National Green Tribunal judgment as it considers that works being done along the Crown Road and in other places in Auroville disregard the NGT judgment.

In a two-page report, the RA-TDC informed the community that the Crown Road work undertaken by the CPWD as per the designs of GB-ATDC has been substandard.

Some years ago, when I lived in Hong Kong, I hosted my friend Alan Watson Featherstone when he gave a series of talks on “Restore the Earth’.

Work is now going on apace to finish the Crown road, using RCC slabs rather than the paver blocks which were first experimented with. However, a study by the Auroville Earth Institute concludes that “The new road surfacing design approved by the Auroville Town Development Council appointed by the secretary for the surfacing of this road does not follow any Indian standard.

As part of a survey of the Galaxy Master Plan, the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), Government of India, has been marking and numbering trees.

Through a Facebook post from the Central Public Works Department of the Government of India the community learned that it has signed a Memorandum of Understanding with the Auroville Foundation on March 15, 2022 for the execution of projects related to the making of the Auroville City.