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Auronet (https://auroville.org.in)
AUROVILLE LAND MATTERS
By Working Committee (WC) , 04 Nov 2024 / 09:55 pm
in Report Tags AUROVILLE LAND MATTERS
AUROVILLE LAND MATTERS
November 2024
We wish to bring transparency and share with the community the situation of the land purchase and
land exchanges. And some important facts about the Land Board.
- Mid 2022, the Auroville Foundation has appointed 2 Special officers to deal with the Land board
members about land matters including purchase and exchanges.
- In March 2023, the 4 executives of the Land board were not allowed to work on land Purchase and
Land exchange anymore. This work was assigned exclusively to the Special Officer Mrs M. with the
help of Mr K. The 4 executives became Land Service members instead of Land Board executives.
- 1st August 2023, Mr K was appointed as Land Board executive, by an Office Order from the
Auroville Foundation. Letters of protest with documented evidence were sent from the 4 Land Board
executives and by the Working Committee but without success to have him removed.
Brief summary of the land purchase and exchange situation.
1. 2022. Land Purchase by the Land Board members:
7,93 acres
7,17 acres in the City, 90%
0,76 acre in the Green Belt, 10 %
2. 2022. Land exchanges, mainly by the Land Board members:
9,21 acres
7,32 acres in the City, 80%
1,89 acre in the Green Belt, 20 %
3. 2023. Land exchanges only by the Auroville Special Officer Mrs M and Mr K
16,27 acres
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9,79 acres in the City 60%
6,47 acres in the Green Belt 40 %
12,5 acres oat AuroOrchard have been exchanged
Based on the market prices of the land in the Master Plan, the City and the Green Belt and the high
value of AuroOrchard at the Tindivanam Highway bypass, the exchange was done with unfair ratio in
favour of one land owner and Auro Oceanic, with a total loss for Auroville for 52,29 crores. These
exchanges were approved by the Auroville Foundation, the Secretary and the Land Committee.
4. 2024. Land Exchanges proposal, done only by the Auroville Foundation Special Officer Mrs M.
and Mr K. (12 land exchanges, most of it is done)
24,80 acres,
5,45 acres in the City 22 %
19,34 acres in the Green Belt 78 %
78 % of Green Belt land at less value, non-priority lands were exchanged with the best lands of
Auroville, Auro Orchard, Djaima, Felicity, with a very high market value. Exchanges done with unfair
ratio in favour of the land owners with a total loss for Auroville for 47,06 crores. These exchanges
were approved by the Auroville Foundation, the Secretary and the Land Committee.
Total loss C and D: 99,42 crores
This Land exchanges as described in C and D, were executed in total contradiction of the Governing
Board decision in its 61st meeting on 08-11-2022, to establish the Land Committee, it was recorded
in the meeting minutes as follows:
“The Board appointed a committee to analyse and approve land purchase and exchange
transactions including prices and exchange ratios as proposed by the Land Board for the purchase /
exchange of lands needed for the Auroville city area in the year 2021-22 and henceforth. The Board
suggested that for the meetings of the committee at least two Governing Board members, Secretary
AVF and OSD AVF should be present. Membership of the committee was approved as follows:
(followed by names and designations)”.
The words “......as proposed by the Land Board.....” may be taken note of. The numerous land
exchanges have been finalised, for which the proposals did not come from the Land Board and
without consultations with the Land Board. Also, from the above-mentioned Governing Board
meeting minutes, it is clear that the Land Committee was established for “lands needed for the
Auroville city area”. This raises a serious question on the processes being followed.
In the history of Auroville, we have never suffered such a level of mismanagement.
This state of affair was so shocking and alarming, that 2 members of the Working Committee
decided to do something not to repeat the exchanges of the best lands of Auroville against much
less value of lands in the Green Belt.
We are in favour of land exchanges, but it should be done with a priority for the City lands and with a
proper ratio based on the real value of the lands, and with full transparency and accountability.
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The Gazetted Auroville Foundation Rules 1997 say under point 4.1.D:
“The Governing Board shall have powers in consultation with the Working Committee and FAMC of
the Residents Assembly to acquire by purchase, lease, gift, or otherwise any immovable property
which may be necessary or convenient for the purpose of the Foundation.”
SOP on Land Exchange with the Auroville Foundation (see attached):
Point 5. The Working Committee will physically inspect the sites along with the Foundation officials
and check the land boundaries, infrastructure, access roads, residences, buildings, green cover etc.
with due diligence and submit their recommendations to the AV Foundation and the Governing
Board within 15 days.
Point 6. Recommendations of the Working Committee will be carefully evaluated by the AV
Foundation and the proposal will be finalised.
To be able to give a solid recommendation the Land Service team was reinforced by appointing 2
new members and one consultant.
However, we came to know in a conversation with Mrs. M. that she continues to meet the
landowners for future land exchanges. And we also discovered that a land exchange has been
approved again by the Governing Board and AVF, without any consultation with the Working
Committee
Therefore, we wrote a letter to the Chairman and the members of the Governing Board, which we are
sharing here:
Auroville 27th October 2024,
Honorable Chairman, dear Governing Board members,
We would like to share several updates on land matters with you.
On Wednesday 23.10.24 Working Committee members Selvaraj and Tine came to know that there
are 12 Land Exchange proposals ready to be signed in the Foundation. We tried to meet Dr
Seetharaman to get clarity, but he was in a long meeting with FAMC and we could not meet with
him. Instead, Tine met with OSD for Land Ms. M and discussed several topics with her.
1. Land Exchanges – Ms. M. did not confirm explicitly that land exchanges are ready to be
signed, but she confirmed that she is working on several exchanges and that the Working
Committee would be informed in time to give feedback before or after the proposals had gone
to the Land Committee.
In the meantime, the Working Committee received one land exchange proposal which is ready
to be registered, not from the official AV Foundation side but from another source. The
Working Committee has not been asked to give its recommendation.
This land exchange pertains to Mr. X (he is the Panchayat president of Edayanchavadi and
Irumbai) whose son owns 3 small disconnected pieces of land in the greenbelt, together 1.25
acre. The value of these 3 pieces in the Green Belt is much less than the 0.83 acre on the
Tindivanam Highway which is offered to Mr. X in exchange.
The profit he makes in this exchange would be around 5 crores.
This is according to the present market value.