Drawing a thick boundary between “them” and “us” will only result in further division and a receding collaboration between those in Auroville and those around.

The Pondy Lit Fest, which sparked off minor debates, was held in Pondicherry, on the outskirts of which is Auroville, a settlement dedicated to his ideas.

Chennai:

Tempers are running high at the tranquil enclave of Auroville in Puducherry where a group of residents are protesting against the administration’s plans to build a road envisaged by Auroville founder Mirra Alfassa.

The 4-km inner ring road would connect all four zones of the model city. However, a section of residents says the road plan, named the Crown Project, cuts through a forested area called Bliss and Youth Centre. They are demanding that the plan be slightly altered keeping ecological concerns in mind.

In the latest flare-up, workers from nearby villages, who had been engaged by the administration to help in the project, allegedly roughed up a section of residents, including women. The residents allege they were attacked when they tried to stop an earth mover brought to clear the Youth Centre.

Divya, a resident, has sent a representation to Auroville Foundation, which runs Auroville. “Today, I climbed on top of the JCB which was working at the Youth Centre and asked the driver to stop the machine. The driver was scared, he would have stopped. But 20 goondas surrounding the JCB lifted me off and carried me away. Of course, in the process I got hurt physically, but that is not the point.”

“Human Unity will not be built by bringing police or goondas from villages. Neither will the city be built by this way. You all know that but at this moment are blinded by the narrative of perfect circle and sacred geometry,” she has stated.

Responding to the allegations, Auroville Foundation’s spokesperson Sindhuja Jagadeesh said, “We had engaged the workers to form a chain around the earth mover so that protesters can’t come near the machine. They are our work force from nearby villages. It is the protesters who behaved like goons. They will face the consequences.”

Citing the ecological concerns surrounding the Crown Project, a resident Suhasini Ayer said, “There is a low-lying area at the head of a watershed. We need to have a plantation and we need to work on how to protect the watershed.”

The Foundation’s stand is that the road is part of the master plan of the township as envisioned by the Auroville founder. It also said the residents were aware of the course of his road, but still went ahead and started plantations.

Sindhuja Jagadeesh said, “A feeling of land ownership and entitlement has slowly crept in among residents. At Auroville, we are stewards and not landowners. The master plan stands and we will implement it.”

The Foundation also said they will transplant trees that may need to be removed or plant fresh saplings.

Joel Van Lierde, another spokesperson for the Foundation, said, “You should know that for each tree that will be removed, four trees will be planted.”

The protesters, however, are adamant that no trees should be removed.

An experimental township, Auroville is located mostly in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district with some parts in Puducherry. It was founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa – known as “The Mother” to her followers and designed by architect Roger Anger.

The vision behind Auroville is that it becomes a universal town where people of all countries are able to live in peace and unity by rising above creeds, politics and nationalities. While it was originally planned for about 50,000 residents, its population has hovered around 3,000 over the past few decades.

“What is going on in the name of Mother and Sri Aurobindo here in Auroville right now is a travesty. The Auroville Foundation is imposing a 20-year-old Master Plan which hasn’t been updated and whose DDPs and Implementation Plans have not even been made, using JCBs against the youth of Auroville, without even showing work orders. We are not against development, but we want development that is ecological and inclusive. Auroville is meant to be a place of human unity. This violent top-down implementation of a rigid plan, ignoring all alternatives suggested for the route, has absolutely nothing to do with human unity,” said Mita Radhakrishnan, another resident.

Ramkumar 11 Dec 2021 4:52 PM

The peaceful spiritual township of Auroville in Puducherry witnessed angry clashes between its residents and workers from nearby villages after earth movers were engaged by the administration of the township and the Town Development Council (TDC) to chop trees to make way for an inner ring road. The proposed road plan called Crown project runs through the Dharkali forest region where the Bliss and Youth centre is located. The Auroville residents allege that the decision to fell trees for the project was taken by the Auroville foundation and the TDC without consulting the community.

On Friday, the National Green Tribunal stayed the felling of trees at Auroville after a plea was filed before the regulatory body by Navroz Kersasp Mody, an environmental activist seeking a direction to the TDC to stop the chopping of trees in Auroville. It should be noted that the decision to implement the project was taken at a meeting chaired by the Governor of Tamil Nadu RN Ravi who was appointed as the new Chairman of the reconstituted Governing Board of Auroville Foundation a couple of months ago. Puducherry Deputy Governor Tamizhai Saundarajan and eight others were also appointed as members of the executive committee. The first executive committee meeting attended by new members was held on November 2nd. Following this, the felling of trees for the construction of a road in the Auroville area under the ‘Crown’ project started on the 4th of this month.

The Aurovillians began their protests earlier this month when the Auroville Foundation tried to implement the project undermining a ‘long-standing collective decision-making process of the community.’ The residents argued that cutting down a large number of trees in the Auroville area would be detrimental to the environment. As per Crown project, the 4-km inner ring road would connect all four zones of the model city. However, a section of residents are demanding that the plan be slightly altered keeping ecological concerns in mind.

Speaking with News9, Vasugi, a resident of Auroville said, “The foundation and Town Development Council took the decision on their own without following the community process. Usually, decisions will be made as a community and it’s mandatory to get approval from the Resident Assembly. This process wasn’t followed.” Mobile footage recorded by the residents shows a clash where a section of the residents were allegedly roughed up by locals. The residents allege they were attacked when they tried to stop an earth mover brought to clear the Youth Centre.

“What is going on in Auroville right now is a travesty. The Auroville Foundation is imposing a 20-year-old master plan which hasn’t been updated. Using JCBs against the youth of Auroville, without even showing work orders is absolutely atrocious. We are not against development, but we want development that is ecological and inclusive. Auroville is meant to be a place of human unity. This violent top-down implementation of a rigid plan, ignoring all alternatives suggested for the route, has absolutely nothing to do with human unity,” said Suhasini Lucas, another resident.

“We do not intend to block any kind of development work in Auroville, but only requesting that an alternative way be chosen as many trees may be cut down for the Crown Way project. Trees have already been cut down with the support of police, that is nothing but barbaric. Auroville Foundation cordoned off the entry points to the Youth Centre and police manhandled and detained youth staying there at midnight on last Sunday.” Hemanth, another resident of Auroville, told News9. He also added that the entry of Aurovillians who tried to reach the project site was blocked by police since Sunday. Citing the ecological concerns surrounding the Crown Project, Kundavi, a resident, said, “There is a low-lying area at the head of a watershed. We need to have a plantation and we need to work on how to protect the watershed. You should know that for each tree that will be removed, four trees will be planted.” Auroville is located mostly in Tamil Nadu’s Villupuram district with some parts in Puducherry. It was founded in 1968 by Mirra Alfassa – known as “The Mother” to her followers and designed by architect Roger Anger. The vision behind Auroville is that it will become a universal town where people of all countries are able to live in peace and unity by rising above creeds, politics and nationalities. While it was originally planned for about 50,000 residents, its population has hovered around 3,000 over the past few decades. Auroville Foundation did not respond to our calls when we reached out for comments.

The township near Puducherry that was envisaged as ‘belonging to nobody in particular and belonging to humanity as a whole’ is at the half-century mark. For five decades its residents have given up personal wealth and immersed themselves in service to the community. It is as good a time as any to evaluate the successful and not-so-successful results of this experiment in ‘spiritual communism’

The issue at hand is that trees have been planted on land earmarked for the Crown, including the Crown Right of Way

The clearing of the Crown, Auroville’s main urban path, once again met with resistance after 25 years of discussion and waiting, on December 4. The police had to be called to help the work proceed. There was no violence and no one was hurt, as it is being alleged.

A road project, part of a plan to make a universal city, has left Auroville divided. Residents now pin their hopes on the NGT.

The Crown is a recognised feature of the Auroville Master Plan

What Aurovillians are asking for is a town planning process that upholds and reflects the ideals of ‘the city the earth needs.’