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A day after a photo exhibition in Chennai highlighted concerns over alleged ecological destruction, loss of self-governance and ideological changes within the international township, members of several Auroville working groups issued a statement calling it “selective and one-sided narrative.”
The exhibition, titled Auroville: An experiment under threat, was organised by residents critical of the current administration on June 6, and showcased photographs, documents and petitions related to tree cutting, governance disputes and redevelopment works in Auroville.
The current administration of the Auroville Foundation, led by Secretary Jayanti Ravi, has maintained that its actions were aimed at implementing the township's long-pending master plan and fulfilling the vision of founder Mirra Alfassa, known as The Mother.
Residents, who are criticising the administration argue that the implementation of the founder’s dream is being done at the cost of environmental protection, community participation, and the township's international and experimental ethos.
Responding to the exhibition, members serving in various statutory bodies, working groups, services and development teams of Auroville said they respect the rights of individuals to express their views and concerns.
However, they argued that the exhibition omitted “important facts, judicial findings and the broader context” behind decisions taken in recent years.
According to the statement, Auroville has witnessed significant progress since 2021 in implementing its long-approved Master plan.
The signatories said long-pending infrastructure projects had moved forward and development works that remained stalled for decades had finally begun.
The group maintained that these efforts were aimed at realising the vision of the Mother, and not departing from it. They argued that the township was never intended to remain a settlement for a few thousand residents but was envisioned as a universal township for 50,000 people.
"The greatest risk to Auroville lies in allowing it to remain permanently unfinished and to have delayed endlessly in the name of permanently looped participatory community processes which have been forever hijacked by some, so that Auroville can become and continue to stay a platform for these people to promote personal gain, profit and landholding in the name of safeguarding," the statement alleged.
The signatories also rejected allegations relating to governance, ecology and land matters, stating that many of these issues had already been examined through statutory and judicial processes.
The group said those who believe Auroville should continue largely in its earlier form were free to find similar communities elsewhere.
“Those who believe things are fine the way, they were until a few years ago, with a few scattered houses in a green backdrop in the name of ecology, can find their rightful place anywhere in the world where the aim is not build this City of the Future — the Galaxy,” the statement said.
The statement was signed by members of the Working Committee of the Residents' Assembly, the Auroville Town Development Council (ATDC), the Funds and Assets Management Committee (FAMC), the Admissions and Terminations Scrutinising Committee (ATSC), the Admission and Termination Registry (ATR), Auroville Security and Emergency Service, and representatives from several services and development teams.
