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Code of Conduct for all Trusts and Units

of the Auroville Foundation

Whereas, Auroville was founded by The Mother on the 28th day of February 1968

and envisioned by her as a universal township dedicated to Human Unity and

international understanding based on the teachings of Sri Aurobindo;

And Whereas the Mother has laid down the aims and ideals of Auroville in the

Auroville Charter (1968), To Be A True Aurovilian (1970) and in numerous other

messages and writings, such as “A Dream” (1954);

And Whereas the Auroville Foundation Act, 1988, was enacted with a view to

making long-term arrangements for better management and further development of

Auroville in accordance with the Auroville Charter and for matters connected

therewith and incidental thereto;

And Whereas the Secretary of the Auroville Foundation, appointed u/s 15 (1) of the

Auroville Foundation Act, 1988, in exercise of the powers conferred u/s 7(1)(a) of the

said Act has been issuing Office Orders since May 14, 1992, for the creation of new

Units and appointing executives for the said undertakings to carry on, for and on

behalf of the Governing Board of the Auroville Foundation, the management of said

undertakings in keeping with the aims, objectives and voluntary nature of the said

undertakings;

And Whereas the Governing Board of the Auroville Foundation, during their 45th

Meeting held on August 3, 2014, approved the Guidelines between Trusts and Units,

on the recommendation of the Working Committee and the Funds and Assets

Management Committee (FAMC) of the Residents’ Assembly, constituted under the

Auroville Foundation Rules 1997.

And whereas the Office of the Secretary, Auroville Foundation, further to the

approval of the Governing Board discontinued the issue of Office Orders and

authorized the FAMC to issue orders for the creation of new Units under Trusts of

the Auroville Foundation, appointment of Unit executives and closure of Units;

And Whereas the Working Committee and the Funds and Assets Management

Committee of the Residents’ Assembly of the Auroville Foundation consider it

necessary and expedient to replace the aforementioned Guidelines between Trusts

and Units of the Auroville Foundation with a Code of Conduct for Trusts and Units

of the Auroville Foundation;

Now therefore, the Working Committee and the Funds and Assets Management

Committee hereby make the following Code of Conduct for Trusts and Units of the

Auroville Foundation.

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1) PURPOSE OF CREATING TRUSTS AND UNITS

a) To create abundance for the growth of Auroville.

b) To contribute towards building a common collective prosperity.

c) To express beauty and harmony in matter.

d) To build and strengthen a shared economy.

e) To provide a healthy and sustainable environment for the development of

people from Auroville, the Bioregion, India and the World.

f) To develop while maintaining a harmony with nature and environment.

g) To support fair trade practices

h) To support fair and lawful labor relations.

2) GENERAL PRINCIPLES OF CONDUCT

a) All actions as a service and offering to the Divine.

b) A spirit of non-ownership above personal possession.

c) Conduct of stewardship on behalf of all the residents and Humanity as a

whole.

d) Trusteeship on behalf of the collectivity.

e) Adherence to Indian Laws and the Spirit of Auroville.

f) Transparent in representations.

g) Generosity and sharing of resources.

3) DEFINITIONS

a) In this Code of Conduct, unless the context otherwise requires,

i) “Act​” means the Auroville Foundation Act, 1988 (54 of 1988);

ii) “Auroville Maintenance​” is the unit under which the Office Order for

“Auroville Maintenance” has been issued.

iii) “BoT​” (Board of Trustees) means all the Trustees of a Trust of the

Auroville Foundation;

iv) “Code of Conduct Level​” means any number embedded in this Code

of Conduct which indicates a number required, a threshold, a specific

time period, etc., and may include any whole number or real number.

v) “Code of Conduct Guideline​” means any clause in this Code of

Conduct.

vi) “Executive​” means a person appointed by the Funds and Assets

Management Committee of the Auroville Foundation to manage a Unit

under the Trust.

vii) “External Entity​” includes any individual, organization, company,

activity, etc. outside of the Auroville Foundation.

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viii) “in writing​” may include signed hard copy or email communications

with delivery receipt.

ix) “Internal Entity​” includes any individual, group, unit, trust, activity,

etc. that is part of Auroville and is not Auroville Maintenance.

x) “FAMC​” means the Funds and Assets Management Committee of the

Residents’ Assembly of the Auroville Foundation;

xi) “Governing Board​” means the Governing Board of the Auroville

Foundation.

xii) “Loan​” means any amount advanced that is not billed materials or

services.

xiii) “Loan Group” is a sub-group constituted by the FAMC whose primary

responsibility is to review and approve/reject applications for loans to

be issued by Auroville Maintenance as per the guidelines determined

by the FAMC.

xiv) “Register of Residents​” means the Register of residents of Auroville

maintained by the Secretary of the Auroville Foundation under the Act;

xv) “Rules​” means the Auroville Foundation Rules, 1997;

xvi) “Secretary​” means the Secretary of the Auroville Foundation;

xvii) “Trust​” means a Trust of the Auroville Foundation;

xviii) “Trustee​” means a person appointed to manage a Trust;

xix) “Unit​” means an entity under a Trust;

xx) “Working Committee​” means the Working Committee of the

Residents’ Assembly of the Auroville Foundation;

b) All other words and expressions used herein and not defined but defined in

the Auroville Foundation Act, 1988 (54 of 1988) shall have the meanings

respectively assigned to them in that Act.

4) ESTABLISHMENT OF AN INTERMEDIARY BODY BETWEEN THE BOARD

OF TRUSTS (BoTs) AND THE FAMC​.​ The BoTs together with the FAMC shall

constitute an Intermediary Body. The Intermediary Body will be an advisory

body that will aid FAMC in its decision-making by making reasoned

recommendations on applications and requests in all matters related to units and

Trusts. The FAMC shall consider these recommendations before making final

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decisions provided the recommendations are provided in an agreed-upon

timeframe.

5) SETTING UP OF A TRUST

a) To create a Trust under the Auroville Foundation an application is made to

the FAMC. The application will contain the objectives of the Trust as well as

the names of its proposed Trustees. The FAMC submits the application and

its approval to the Working Committee.

b) Once both the FAMC and Working Committee have given their approval, the

Working Committee, in accordance with the Act will seek the approval of the

Governing Board for the creation of the Trust.

c) As soon as the Governing Board has approved the creation of the Trust, the

Secretary will execute and the Working Committee will facilitate the

execution and registration of the Trust Deed.

6) SETTING UP OF A UNIT

a) To create a Unit under a Trust of the Auroville Foundation an application is

made to the BoT of the Trust under which the Unit is to be created. The

application will contain the activities and objectives of the Unit as well as the

names of its proposed Executives.

b) The BoT shall submit this application with its recommendation to the FAMC.

c) Once the FAMC has given its approval, the BoT will pass a resolution to

create the Unit.

d) The FAMC will subsequently issue a resolution creating the Unit and

appointing the Executives.

7) ELIGIBILITY FOR BEING TRUSTEE OR EXECUTIVE

a) A resident of Auroville, whose name is entered into the Register of Residents

maintained by the Secretary, is eligible to be Trustee and/or Executive.

b) A person whose name is not in the Register of Residents can not be appointed

Trustee or Executive. However, they can be appointed member of a

Management Committee.

c) Every Trust can establish a management board upon approval by the FAMC

and the Working Committee.

i) The Management Board can be composed of both residents and

non-residents.

ii) Non-residents must be in the minority, not more than one-third of the

members.

iii) The Trust will submit the MB Terms of Reference which includes: time of

office, roles and responsibilities.

8) NUMBER OF TRUSTEES / EXECUTIVES

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a) A Trust has no less than three trustees at any time, one of which is not a

live-in partner or family member of one of the other trustees.

b) A Unit may have no less than two Executives at any time. A unit with an

annual turnover exceeding Rs. 100 lakhs, will have at least three executives,

one of which is not a live-in partner or family member of the other executives.

9) APPOINTMENT AND TERM OF OFFICE OF TRUSTEES / EXECUTIVES

a) Trustees will be appointed / re-appointed jointly by the Working Committee

and the FAMC. The FAMC will consult the BoT and may consult any group

at their discretion on the appointment of a new trustee or the re-appointment

of a trustee.

b) A Trustee holds office for a period of five years and may be reappointed,

except as specified in Section 10), below.

c) Executives will be appointed by the FAMC. The FAMC will review unit

executive appointments during the first 3 years from the initial appointment.

Following a review, the FAMC may permanently appoint, terminate or

reappoint executives for a limited period of time.

10) RESIGNATION, REPLACEMENT, VACANCY, AND REMOVAL OF

TRUSTEES AND EXECUTIVES

a) A Trustee / Executive may resign by giving a written notice to the BoT. The

resignation will be effective from the date as decided by the FAMC. The

FAMC may request a statement of accounts of the Trust / Unit (Trial Balance

& or Balance Sheet) and a recommendation for the replacement for the

resigning Trustee / Executive before approving the resignation request.

b) A recommendation for replacement of the resigning Trustee / Executive may

be made by the BoT and sent to the FAMC. The replacement of new Trustees

/ Executives shall follow Section 9), above.

c) The office of the Trustee / Executive will become vacant when any of the

following events occur:

i) Death of the Trustee / Executive.

ii) The Trustee / Executive has been convicted of a criminal offence under

the Indian Penal Code.

iii) The Trustee / Executive has been removed by the Working Committee

jointly with the FAMC as stipulated in Section 10)d), below

d) The Working Committee jointly with the FAMC may remove a Trustee /

Executive at any time if any one of the following events occur:

i) The Trustee / Executive is mentally or physically incapable of

functioning effectively as Trustee / Executive, as certified by a

qualified medical practitioner.

ii) The Trustee / Executive is absent from Auroville for a continuous

period exceeding 180 days without informing the FAMC in writing

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