Residents’ Assembly (RA)

Lakshay Dharan shifted to Auroville in 2015 and became an Auroville resident in Feb 2018. Since then, he has been active in art, communication, strategy, and organisational work.

On 14 August Dr. Karan Singh, who has been Chairman of the Governing Board of the Auroville Foundation for more than 20 years, briefly visited Auroville.

Chali reflects on the fractures within Auroville and on the possibilities of restoration.

Residents learned from an article in the Deccan Chronicle that the Governing Board met on 8 July to review major developments since June 2024 and passed several key resolutions regarding infrastructure, education, administration and governance.

Residents were asked to decide if they supported the resolution that the Admissions and Terminations Scrutinizing Committee (ATSC), the Admissions and Terminations Registry (ATR), the Human Resources Service (HRS), and the Residence Criteria (RC) are not valid because they were created without consultation or approval of the RA.

On 29 April four cases concerning Auroville were listed in the Madras High Court before its summer closure during the month of May. The case filed by a concerned member of the Residents’ Assembly concerning the constitution of the Admission and Termination Scrutinising Committee (ATSC) was basically accepted for debate and the lawyers of the Foundation Office were directed to submit their arguments within six weeks.

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.

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.

In a message to aspiring Newcomers, the Working Committee appointed by the Residents’ Assembly (RA-WCom) informed them that the entry process for Auroville is pending in the Madras High Court which has not yet given a final ruling.

On 17 March 2025, the Supreme Court of India delivered two judgements. One was on the appeal of the Auroville Foundation against the verdict of the National Green Tribunal passed in April 2022; the other on the appeal of the Auroville Foundation against the judgement of the Madras High Court of March 2024 regarding the Auroville Town Development Council.

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.

As I was looking through the minutes of the last Governing Board meeting regarding proposed changes to the Auroville Foundation Act, I recalled that when the Act was originally being prepared, there were already two different tendencies.

On 11 February it was announced that Auroville’s Residents' Assembly (RA) has approved the revised mandate of the Residents’ Assembly Service. 359 residents of Auroville voted online and in-person, with 355 votes in favour and 4 against.

“In this as in all great human aspirations and endeavours, an a priori declaration of impossibility is a sign of ignorance and weakness. For by the doing the difficulty will be solved.”

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.

Prashant Hedao was the Regional Planning Coordinator of L’Avenir d’Auroville, Auroville’s Town Planning Department, from 2007-2010. In those years he worked closely together with then Governing Board member Dr BV Doshi on the Auroville Master Plan.

In light of an interview published in Auroville Today’s October issue that presented a perspective on Auroville’s current governance situation, we feel it necessary to offer a different view that more accurately reflects the experiences and concerns of many in our community.

The RA Working Committee’s Quo Warranto petition against seven members functioning as the Working Committee of the Residents Assembly was dismissed by a judge at the Madras High Court, citing there is no clear framework for selection of the Working Committee.

Auroville’s communal fabric is having a difficult time of late with the Residents’ Assembly’s voice being ignored. The recent Selection Process showed that our collective spirit is still in good health.

Sathiya, a second-generation Aurovilian, speaks about her upbringing and her unwavering commitment to Auroville's ethos despite external pressures.

The RA-WCom informed the community that the hearings in the Supreme Court of India on the verdict from the Madras High Court of 15th March 2024, which had invalidated the GB’s Auroville Town Development Council (ATDC) and had called for more collaboration between the GB and the Residents’ Assembly (RA), will probably take place in the second week of July.

On April 9th the Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly (RA-WCom) sent an email to the Budget Coordination Committee (BCC) demanding that the BCC restore access to the budgets and Financial Service accounts of the working groups and services that have been selected or appointed by the Residents’ Assembly (RA), and to ensure that the maintenances of the RA members and Services are restored through the Auroville City Services Budget.

By letter dated April 9, 2024, the RA-WCom requested the Secretary of the Auroville Foundation to hand over the management and credentials of the domain auroville.org.in and its associated Google workspace to the RA-WCom, which both were set up by members of the Residents' Assembly to enable the Residents' Assembly to fulfil its duties of day-to-day management of Auroville.

The Auroville Council reminded the community that in December 2022, following instructions from the Auroville Foundation Office (AVFO), the Auroville News & Notes (N&N) began censoring the content received from a portion of the Residents’ Assembly.

There have been many requests for clarity on the background and status of the numerous court cases that are pending in various courts in India, including in the Supreme Court of India, regarding the present situation in Auroville.

On March 15, a bench of the Madras High Court consisting of its Hon’ble Chief Justice Mr. Sanjay V. Gangapurwala and the Hon'ble Mr. Justice D.

“Enhance Auroville food production to meet the needs of Auroville...” – View point of the Governing Board as recorded in the minutes of the 57th meeting.

On January 23rd, the Madras High Court ordered an interim stay of the two new regulations approved by the Governing Board and published by the Secretary, Auroville Foundation, in the Gazette of India, e.g. the Auroville Foundation (Admission and Termination of Persons in the Register of Residents) Regulations 2023, and the Auroville Foundation (Framework for Selection of Working Committee) Regulations 2024.

The Residents of Auroville express their profound grief at the passing of eminent jurist Fali Nariman on 21st February 2024 who, on more than one occasion, helped the development of Auroville by acting in court or by giving valuable legal opinions.

In early February, before the High Court passed its interim order, an Emergency Residents' Assembly Decision (RAD) had been initiated through a petition signed by more than 300 members of the Residents’ Assembly (RA) to approve or disapprove the following resolution:

Concerned residents have initiated a call for an Emergency Residents’ Assembly decision on (1) extending the emergency functions of the Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly (RA-WCom) and (2) authorising the RA-WCom to do the work of the Funds and Assets Management Committee (RA-FAMC) of the Residents’ Assembly.

In response to the publication of the new Regulations, the RA-WCom initiated an Emergency Residents' Assembly Decision-making process. The residents were asked to pass a resolution that the new Regulations are an overreach by the GB and usurp the powers given to the Residents’ Assembly as per the Foundation Act, and that the Residents’ Assembly asserts its right to carry out its functions as detailed in the Auroville Foundation Act.

More than two months after the Central Information Commissioner, an appeal authority under the Right to Information Act, reprimanded the Public Information Officer of the Auroville Foundation for not responding to Right for Information requests and not publishing the minutes of meetings of the Governing Board, the AVFO has published on its website the minutes of the GB’s 63rd, 64th and 65th meetings, held on February 16th, August 9th and December 12th 2023 respectively.

The Governing Board (GB) has approved new ‘Admission and Termination of Persons in the Register of Residents Regulations’, and published them in part III of the Gazette of India on January 4th, 2024.

As the Framework for Selection of Working Committee Regulations appear to be in contravention of the Auroville Foundation Act which states in section 19.2 that “The manner of choosing the members of the Working Committee and their term of office shall be such as may be decided by the Residents Assembly”, concerned residents have collected signatures on a petition requesting the Residents’ Assembly Service (RAS) to open an Emergency Residents' Assembly Decision (E-RAD) “regarding the Governing Board’s questionable attempt to interfere with the selection process of WCom members.”

The RA-WCom informed the community that, as the Hon'ble Madras High Court has recently re-affirmed that the Residents' Assembly (RA) is a statutory body and cannot be restricted in carrying out its functions as per the Auroville Foundation Act, the RA has to constitute the “Termination Committee” (aka the Exit Review Group) as specified in the Auroville Foundation (Admission and Termination of Persons in the Register of Residents) Regulations, 2020.

Many years ago, Kireet Joshi gave a series of talks about Auroville’s organisation. As the architect of the Auroville Foundation Act, about which there is so much discussion and litigation at present, it is important to understand how he envisaged the role of the Residents Assembly in particular.

On September 4th, 2023, the appeal bench of the Madras High Court noted in an interim order that the Residents’ Assembly, as a statutory body, cannot be restricted from performing its duties as per the Auroville Foundation Act.

The RA-WCom has published extensive comments on the minutes of the 62nd meeting of the Governing Board, held in December 2022, which were only made public in October this year.

Mr. Srinivasmurty was a member of the Auroville Foundation administration for the last 28 years, serving many different Secretaries and fulfilling different roles.

A 650-page study on Auroville’s organization, made by Professor Raag Yadava and his team, has been published. It is available on the Auroville website.

It is no secret that there are divisions within the community at present.

In order to prioritise the upcoming decision making events of the Residents’ Assembly, the Auroville Council organised a poll asking Aurovilians to express their priorities from a list of ten topics. 132 submissions were received online, by mail or on paper.

One of the powers of the Residents' Assembly, says the Auroville Foundation Act, is to allow the admission or cause the termination of persons in the Register of Residents in accordance with Regulations.

The Chairman of the Governing Board and Hon’ble Governor of Tamil Nadu, Shri R.N Ravi, accompanied by three members of the Governing Board, Smt.

Peter reflects on many months of keeping the council office in the Town Hall available for the Auroville Council.

Under the Auroville Foundation Act, there are three statutory authorities who jointly administer and manage the Foundation and they are a) Governing Body, b) International Advisory Council and c) Residents Assembly and all the three are having well defined powers and one cannot override the power of the other. – Excerpt from the discussion section of the judgment

Over the past two months, a group of Tamil Aurovilians organised three community gatherings with the intention to bring together the residents of Auroville in unity.

Recently, the Dreamweaving the Crown exercise finished. Approximately 70 people – Dreamweaving architects, their peers, multidisciplinary experts, focus groups and randomly selected members of the Residents Assembly – took part at various stages of the exercise, which began with a Crown walk at the end of December and concluded with an exhibition and presentation to the larger community in early April process [see AV Today no.391 for full details of the programme].