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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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