Summary – June to October 2024
The aggressive takeover of Auroville – which started three years ago after the appointment of a new Governing Board and its Secretary, Dr Jayanti Ravi – continues unabated. Previous issues of Voice of Auroville have covered events through May 2024, a summary of which can be found here.
The last months in Auroville have been marked with uncertainty, more takeovers and misuse of community assets by the Auroville Foundation’s Office of the Secretary (AVFO) and its appointees, but also with hopeful indicators of resilience. While the situation is increasingly worrying, residents continue to strive for resolution, and some feel that the tides could soon change. The following pages cover new developments in Auroville between the months of June and October 2024.
Power shifts in the AVFO
No more Secretary?
The term of Dr Jayanti Ravi, Secretary of the Auroville Foundation, officially ended at the beginning of July. After weeks of uncertainty regarding the possible extension of her tenure, on 31st July Dr Jayanti Ravi was repatriated to Gujarat where she has been appointed as Additional Chief Secretary (ACS) of the Revenue Department. Months after her departure, however, no new Secretary to the Auroville Foundation has been appointed by the Central Government, and no interim Acting Secretary has been officially appointed either. Since her transfer to Gujarat, it has been reported that Dr Jayanti Ravi has returned to Auroville on multiple occasions, and has held regular online meetings with AVFO staff members and residents illegitimately appointed by her to various positions. All of this creates an unprecedented situation for the Auroville community, as there is uncertainty as to who has the authority to carry out key functions such as visa recommendations.
Changes in the Governing Board
In March 2024, Tamilisai Soundararajan, former Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry and member of the Governing Board, resigned. Six months later, on 30th September, the new Lieutenant-Governor of Puducherry, Kuniyil Kailashnathan, was apparently appointed as a new member of the Board. The current Governing Board’s term is valid until October 2025.
AVFO appointees step down
Over the months of August and September, three officers reportedly stopped working at the AVFO. Smt Vanjulavalli Sridhar, who was an Officer on Special Duty in charge of managing farms and forests, was announced on 28th August as transferring to the Andaman Islands as the Conservator of Forests. A few days later, Dharmesh Chandra Goel, Senior Consultant in matters related to town planning, resigned. In September, the AVFO mentioned via email that Mr Balagandhi, Consultant in Farm Activities, had also stopped working there. There is no news yet whether these three officers will be replaced.
Confusions about an AVFO-endorsed group
There is still confusion as to who exactly is in the AVFO-endorsed group illegitimately calling itself the ‘Working Committee’. A series of communications in September 2024 first omitted all names, then reaffirmed a list of seven names, then again removed some names.
In August 2024, a single-judge bench of the Madras High Court issued a new judgement on the membership of the Working Committee. The court order, published in October, mentions procedural issues with the type of petition filed, leading to dismissal of this petition. Nonetheless, the order reaffirmed that the Madras High Court’s judgement of 4th September 2023 “would govern the field qua the management and functioning of Auroville”. This earlier order from the Court had reaffirmed the role of the Residents’ Assembly in appointing its own representatives, as is required in the Auroville Foundation Act. As such, the AVFO-endorsed ‘Working Committee’ would not be legitimate, as it has not been chosen by and does not enjoy the confidence of the Residents’ Assembly.
Concentration of power
Over the past year, a number of the residents who had actively supported the AVFO have distanced themselves or resigned from their Foundation Office roles. This has resulted in power becoming increasingly concentrated among an even smaller circle of AVFO appointees. In the Land Service, an AVFO-constituted body that is already under scrutiny for questionable deals, two appointees – Meenakshi and Krishnamurthy – have assumed full control. They have installed new locks on the Land Service office, preventing access to other residents and stakeholders, and are managing land exchanges without transparency. Another notable example is the case of Sindhuja, a resident who has become the AVFO’s “Head of Urban Planning”, “Media Content Vetter”, and “Legal Coordinator”. As one of the former Secretary’s closest allies, Sindhuja has spearheaded the operations that have systematically destroyed significant portions of Auroville’s natural environment and human fabric.
More recruitments
Amidst the changes and uncertainties, the AVFO continues its recruitment efforts and has even apparently started a project to build additional AVFO staff quarters to house new recruits. Over the last months, several non-Aurovilian employees have been hired by the AVFO for key management functions. In addition, on 5th September, the AVFO published a recruitment notification for four senior posts: one Under Secretary, as well as three Deputy Secretaries in distinct fields: Security; Accounts and Audits; and Administration. This increased recruitment – and the formalisation of these three Deputy Secretary posts as permanent positions without the involvement of the residents or their representatives – raises questions. Does the AVFO now see Auroville as a Government department? What exactly could be the purpose behind creating so many official administrative posts in an experimental township of, at present, 3500 inhabitants?
Land exchanges questioned in the Indian Parliament
At the beginning of August, questions were raised by two Members of Parliament (MP) in each of their respective chambers of Parliament specifically about dubious land exchanges in Auroville. Dr Sukanta Majumdar, Minister of State for Education, responded to these questions, stating that complaints had been received by the Ministry of Education alleging various offences in Auroville, including land encroachment, as well as drug-related issues, and financial irregularities. As for allegations of malpractice in recent land exchanges, Dr Majumdar said they would be investigated by the Governing Board and the AVFO.
Several news outlets reported on these statements, with headlines emphasising allegations of illegal activities by residents, rather than focusing on the MPs’ original questions about land exchanges. In response, the Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly issued a press release expressing deep concern over misleading statements in the media. The Working Committee strongly refuted the allegations, stating they were unsubstantiated and seemed to divert attention from the MPs’ questions and the pressing issue of questionable land exchanges conducted by the current Auroville Foundation administration.
The Working Committee also pointed to the fallacy in asking the Governing Board and the AVFO to investigate their own wrongdoings. They called instead for an independent external investigation into recent land exchanges and emphasised the need for transparency and adherence to established processes in future transactions. They also stressed the importance of involving the Residents’ Assembly and its committees in these matters.
Land and assets mismanagement
Residents oppose dubious land exchanges
Over the last four months, more questionable land exchanges – conducted by the AVFO and ‘authorised’ by the Governing Board – have come to light. With the rationale of consolidating land in the city centre, some Auroville land has been given away in exchange at 1% of its market value, resulting in losses of over 240 crore rupees (US$28 million) to Auroville. In an emergency decision-making process conducted in June, 98% of 945 residents voted to halt, review, and reverse land deals undertaken by the Secretary. The Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly has approached the relevant authorities, seeking to review and reverse these land exchanges and ensure that these respect due processes in the future.
Alarm about the opaque land exchanges has also been expressed by three members of Auroville’s International Advisory Council (IAC) in a recent letter to the Governing Board. The letter contains detailed data that shows considerable financial loss to Auroville, and asks the Governing Board not to proceed until and unless a transparent and fair process, conducted in consultation with the stakeholders, can be evolved. The IAC members have offered their full collaboration in helping to work out such a process.
Despite these actions and clear calls to halt land exchanges, residents learnt on 25th October that more exchanges have been approved by the Governing Board. A number of residents, including some that were earlier aligned with the AVFO, again expressed their deep concern about opaque land exchanges and have approached relevant authorities.
Recent deals have led to great physical and emotional turmoil for several Auroville communities. In the settlements of Felicity and AuroOrchard, new landowners blocked access to Aurovilians who live on the same (now divided) plot. In the latter community, residents face harassment from the new landowner and disrupted water supplies. [See article on Auroville land consolidation and its history here. See also Voice of Auroville, Issue 05 for details on the impact of land exchanges on working farms and residents.]
Housing concerns
Housing issues are of increasing concern. A number of Aurovilian residents have been ordered to vacate their homes, effectively displacing them and disregarding the significant energy and funds they have spent over the years to upgrade and maintain these buildings. Available houses are also being allocated in an arbitrary and opaque manner, and often prioritise AVFO employees over Aurovilian residents.
Meanwhile, the AVFO seems to have greenlighted a project to build three blocks of staff quarters, with the design and construction contracted out to India’s Central Public Works Department (CPWD) rather than any of Auroville’s in-house award-winning sustainable architecture experts and construction units. No information or plans have been shared with the community, but already land has been cleared in Auroville’s residential zone.
Clearing underway for an artificial hill
Over the month of September, large-scale bulldozing took place without any notice or public announcement on the northern side of Auroville’s Greenbelt, a circular zone surrounding the city area with farms and forested areas. This followed approval by AVFO appointees of a project to create an artificial hill related to the Matrimandir Lake project in the northern Greenbelt. [See Voice of Auroville, Issue 06.] The hill is projected to be 13 acres at its base, 30 metres tall, with a 200 x 400 metre plateau at the top, and would contain 1 million cubic metres of soil. In order to fully develop this hill project, a minimum of 16 acres of land with dense tree cover will likely be bulldozed. Out of these 16 acres, 9 acres have already been cleared. An additional 7 acres will be cleared for the base of the hill as it takes shape.
The project was negotiated in secrecy and raises important concerns. An immediate concern is that construction started at the beginning of the monsoon increases the risk of landslides in the neighbouring areas. A long-term concern is the impact on the watersheds in the bioregion, and yet neighbouring villages have not been consulted at all. Alarmingly, no ecological plans have been made public, even though this project may strongly impact the immediate environment. Residents’ requests to halt the excavation for the Matrimandir Lake and related projects such as this hill have been ignored.
Dismantling of existing infrastructure continues
Following the 2022-2023 destruction of eco-friendly Crown road sections and their replacement with prefabricated concrete slabs, the AVFO has continued its controversial approach to road development. Initial work focused on constructing disconnected Crown road segments on Foundation-owned land parcels, creating a fragmented network of unusable roads. This year, the construction of the ‘outer ring road’ has resulted in more isolated road segments and more tree clearing. Continued clearing for this planned road will plough through several Auroville forests, including the Revelation Forest Sanctuary, nearby Kottakarai village, as well as existing Auroville homes and buildings.
In October 2024, without prior notification to affected residents, AVFO appointees began dismantling the Vikas Radial, a fully functional road that serves as the sole access point for the second most dense residential area of Auroville, and which is the only route for daily movements of hundreds of residents. It appears that the bulk of construction, planned to last 3 months, will take place during the monsoon season, and heavy rainfall will make dug-up roads even more dangerous.
Concerned residents from the affected communities have written to the AVFO’s urban planning appointees requesting several reasonable measures: safe access to community entrances during construction; phased removal and replacement of road surfaces to minimise disruption; and most importantly, a meeting with the communities to discuss the plan, timeline, and incorporate resident input before further work proceeds.
Constant environmental destruction
As outlined above, ongoing tree cutting, environmental destruction and chaotic development has continued, with no explanation to the community, no presentation of plans, and a seeming disregard for environmental concerns or regulations. Cycle paths have been destroyed; newly-built roads are of very poor quality and lack shade; and land clearing and poor land management practices are predicted to lead to significant land erosion, with serious consequences for Auroville and its neighbours during monsoon.
In addition to the clearing for roads, housing projects and the hill, large-scale tree cutting has also been carried out to make space for a new landfill for Auroville’s non-biodegradable waste. On 19th September, the residents assigned to take care of an Auroville area called Nine Palms discovered that half an acre of land, which originally had a tree cover density of up to 85%, had been cleared for this new landfill zone. This plot is situated directly above a major water catchment area, where the first aquifer lies just 15 metres below the surface, which may lead to water contamination. No studies seem to have been done to determine whether or not this was an appropriate location for a landfill.
Financial squeeze & takeovers continue
Budget cuts for all education
The new school year started mid-July, just weeks after Auroville schools were informed of considerable cuts in budgets that have not been increased or adjusted for inflation since 2019. Auroville’s educational units have always relied on a combination of community-generated funds, grants and direct donations. The onus is now on individual schools to fundraise all shortfall from parents and other donors. At the same time, schools are feeling the strain of ever-increasing administrative reporting requirements, while the availability of candidates qualified and willing to work as educators has all but dried up in the present crisis-ridden climate.
In a city whose aim is to be “the place of an unending education”, the AVFO-appointed committee overseeing finances and assets is prioritising higher “financial efficiency” over quality learning environments inspired by Sri Aurobindo and the Mother’s philosophy of integral education.
Additionally, a new “Physical Education Board” with no official status and dubious authority replaced a number of the trainers and teachers at Auroville’s Dehashakti sports complex. This forceful replacement was done overnight, without following any principle of natural justice, even though some of the dismissed individuals had been working there for over a decade.
Auroville’s culture throttled
In mid-October, the AVFO appointees overseeing finances and assets abruptly terminated International Talents, a significant Auroville cultural and artistic unit. International Talents’ digital platform connected Auroville artists with global audiences. The closure was suddenly implemented following a complaint made by one resident, an AVFO appointee holding multiple official posts, who was also the main investigator and one of the final decision-making authorities in this affair. This raises serious questions about the motivations and integrity of the process. The decision to close this unit will have a significant negative impact on Auroville’s cultural and artistic scene.
More generally, cuts to stipends and budgets across the whole of Auroville’s vibrant cultural network further threaten its long-standing commitment to providing free access to events, classes and spaces. Now, many practitioners will be forced to limit access to those who can pay, and residents may no longer be able to afford it.
“Aquifers and watersheds don’t understand administrative boundaries. These are common resources for the people. All along, Auroville has planned for the entire Kaluveli watershed.
Do we want to live on an island which excludes the local people? Or do we want to live in a demonstrative manner in the highest ideals of Sri Aurobindo and tenets of human unity and inclusion that we inspire people to live in those ways?”
– Major Arun Ambathy, Newcomer, in a speech given at the 16th March meeting organised by local Aurovilians against the takeover, here denouncing AVFO water mismanagement.
Asset and unit takeovers
Additional units and services of Auroville are being forcibly taken over, and more and more residents who have proven themselves to be committed, responsible managers of community assets are being replaced with no valid justification or proper process.
An executive of the long-standing Pour Tous Purchasing Service, one of three community grocery outlets serving Auroville, has been forced out of their role despite bringing much appreciated positive change to the functioning of this service, including the resolution of several management and financial issues inherited from previous managers.
The Afsanah Guest House executive and managers have been terminated in a similar fashion, again despite their measurable and significant success in increasing the unit’s turnover and quality of service.
The Learning Community (TLC), an education space experimenting with and exploring the Mother’s concept of ‘Free Progress’ or self-directed learning, was abruptly stripped of its entire budget and forced to vacate its campus over the summer months.
In all of the above examples and many more, the AVFO-appointed ‘Funds and Assets Management Committee’ continues to ignore established internal processes, and refuses to engage in any meaningful exchanges to clarify these decisions. These cases, in conjunction with others before, spotlight the actions and beliefs of individuals who have been hand-picked by the AVFO and placed in positions of power within the community, yet refuse to hold themselves accountable. They freely mismanage assets and funds which were created by the community for the whole collective, in blatant disregard for long-standing community-approved processes.
On 20th September, after all previous attempts at dialogue were ignored, the lawyer for the Working Committee of the Residents’ Assembly served the “Funds and Assets Management Committee appointed by the Governing Board” with a legal notice requesting them to stop their destructive actions, in the absence of which, legal proceedings may be initiated.
Repurposing and appropriating Auroville
Since the replacement of the Visitors Center executives with AVFO-appointees, significant changes have been made in how Auroville welcomes visitors. The Visitors Center is often a first introduction to those visiting Auroville, a showcase for Auroville’s achievements and a place to get more information. Under the AVFO-supported management, commercial attractions have been installed along a new route, with stalls, a caricaturist, and a ‘wildlife’ gallery featuring cement and resin figures of animals with no connection to Auroville’s bioregion. Many of the features along this route require an entrance fee and have little to do with Auroville. This move shifts the intent of the Visitors Center from being the starting point in presenting Auroville’s meaning and purpose, to making Auroville a cash-grab tourist attraction.
The AVFO has organised and promoted youth camps and similar events which are a willful distortion of Auroville’s aspirations, and a poorly disguised attempt to co-opt Auroville’s achievements and reputation for the advancement of goals unrelated to its mission. Most Aurovilians are not informed about these events, nor invited to participate in them. Some of these events feature political personalities and discourses, even though Auroville has always strived to avoid national, political and religious divides.
No transparency
As all of the AVFO’s actions outlined in this news summary indicate, it has continued to act with little transparency or accountability. For example, minutes of Governing Board meetings – often shared late or obtained only through Right to Information requests – reveal that all decisions taken over the last three years have not sought community input and have not been communicated to the community or its representatives. These include: critical new regulations relating to residents’ status in Auroville (i.e., residence, admission and termination criteria); major land exchanges; appointment processes for various Auroville positions that bypass existing Aurovilian experts; and Memorandums of Understanding (MOUs) signed with external organisations, for example IIT Madras and the Department of Art and Culture of the Government of Puducherry, for purposes that have neither been disclosed nor discussed with the residents.
What’s behind the push for big infrastructure?
Major infrastructure projects continue to be announced without any background information about approval process, funding or tenders. AVFO appointees in charge of funds and assets recently made public a Southern Service Node project. The proposal mentions a parking and transit hub together with boutiques and a food court for day tourists and Auroville residents. Funding has apparently been secured, but no source was mentioned.
Still waiting for visas
Visas are still being withheld for some residents, while other residents who are normally eligible for five-year visas, are only given one-year visas. In another incident, one more long-time Auroville resident received a ‘Leave India Notice’ from India’s Foreigners’ Registration Office in July. AVFO appointees then gave directions to remove this person from Auroville’s Register of Residents. However, this action appears to be legally invalid: only the Residents’ Assembly has the authority to decide if an individual should be removed from the Register according to the Auroville Foundation Act, and the Madras High Court has ordered a halt to any changes in the register pending further orders.
Evasive ‘Right to Information’ replies
AVFO appointees also failed to respond adequately or within stipulated time frames to a number of Right to Information (RTI) requests, a legal right that allows Indian citizens to request information from public authorities, and which promotes transparency and accountability in government functioning. In several instances over the past few months, India’s Central Information Commission (CIC) severely admonished the AVFO and its appointees, and ordered them to “provide proper replies/information”. The Information Commissioner stated that the replies given by the AVFO were in all cases “evasive and misleading” and suggested that “the denial of information is with mala fide [bad faith] intent.”
The community stands tall
Despite the antagonism from the AVFO and its appointees towards residents, the community continues to stand tall and remains resilient. It has undertaken major decision-making processes and other community initiatives, such as the Residents’ Assembly decision-making process concerning land exchanges, and a large community event with over 1000 residents in July to share information about these land exchanges.
Residents organised a petition in September against arbitrary decision-making and actions by AVFO appointees “that do not follow correct processes or principles of natural justice”. For example, as recounted above, executives of Afsanah Guest House and Pour Tous Purchasing Service were recently dismissed, even though they had solid track records of competent management and profitability, as well as the trust of the community. Other examples include: extraction of monthly contributions from residents who had previously been given waivers due to their lack of resources; and the refusal of visa recommendation letters for those who cannot pay sums that AVFO-appointees claim are ‘back dues’. This is creating hardship and bad will, and is discriminatory.
Other long-standing initiatives which illustrate the community’s resolve and spirit include: the round-the-clock vigil in the Auroville Council room at the Town Hall since July 2022, which ensures that the only remaining meeting space for Residents’ Assembly working groups and residents is retained; financial, material and other kinds of community support for groups and services that represent the residents and the Residents’ Assembly; and the continuation of a community edition of the weekly News and Notes, an uncensored version of the long-standing publication that was taken over by the AVFO in December 2022. The Voice of Auroville journal, launched in April 2023, is itself further testimony to the resilience of the Auroville community.
Looking ahead
As Auroville navigates this critical period and advocates for collaborative best-practice urban development as a conscious way forward, the support of well-wishers worldwide remains crucial. You, as a reader, can play a vital role in bolstering Auroville and its residents through this crisis. Your awareness and active support make a real difference. To learn more about how you can help, please refer to the last page of the last Voice of Auroville issue.
Extracted from Voice of Auroville, Issue 07, November 2024
