Lok Sabha Question No. 2092 (UNSTARRED), answered on 2024-08-05
Subject: Auroville Foundation
Ministry: EDUCATION
Asked by: Dr. D Ravi Kumar

## GOVERNMENT OF INDIA MINISTRY OF EDUCATION DEPARTMENT OF HIGHER EDUCATION

## LOK SABHA

## UNSTARRED QUESTION NO. 2092 ANSWERED ON 5 th  AUGUST 2024

## Auroville Foundation

## 2092. Dr. D Ravi Kumar:

Will the Minister of EDUCATION be pleased to state:

- (a) whether the Government has received any complaint from the residents of Auroville about the land exchange activities undertaken by the administration and the details of the steps taken by the Government to investigate the complaint;
- (b) the criteria and procedures followed by the Auroville Foundation Office (AVFO) for land exchanges, particularly those involving prime properties and small parcels;
- (c) whether  the  Government  has  any  plans  to  address  the  lack  of  transparency  and consultation  with  key  Auroville  committees  and  stakeholders  in  the  land  exchange process, if so, the details thereof;
- (d) the measures being taken to ensure that all future land exchanges by the AVFO are conducted  in  a  fair  and  transparent  manner  with  the  necessary  approvals  and stakeholder consultations; and
- (e) whether the Government has any plans to appoint the local member of parliament as an ex officio member of the executive council of the Auroville Foundation, if not, the reasons therefor?

## ANSWER

## MINISTER OF STATE IN THE MINISTRY OF EDUCATION (DR. SUKANTA MAJUMDAR)

- (a) to (d): Representations  and  complaints  have  been  received  from  several  quarters, including the residents of Auroville, on various matters related to activities in Auroville. These inter-alia include alleged offences such as land encroachment, drug abuse and peddling, cybercrimes including data theft and data leak through servers based outside India, violation of immigration laws, circulation of black money, money laundering, raising of donations without registration  under  Foreign  Contribution  Regulation  Act  (FCRA)  and  many more economic offences, besides irregularities in land exchanges.

Complaints dealing with alleged offences under the Information Technology Act  (for  cybercrimes)  and  Indian  Penal  Code  (IPC)  have  been  referred  to competent agencies for investigation. Separately, representations and complaints  dealing  with  land  exchanges  have  been  forwarded  to  Auroville Foundation to examine the merit of the allegations and place in the Governing

Board (GB), being the Competent Authority, to recommend suitable course of action.

- (e): As per Section 10(3) of the Auroville Foundation Act, 1988, the Foundation shall consist of three  authorities, namely:-
- (a) the Governing Board
- (b) the Resident's Assembly
- (c) the Auroville International Advisory Council

Appointment of members to the Governing Board and Auroville International Advisory Council is governed by Section 11 and Section 21 of the Auroville Foundation Act respectively. All appointments to these authorities are made by the Central Government in line with the provisions of the Act. Insofar as the Resident's Assembly is concerned, the authority consists of all the residents of Auroville  who  are  for  the  time  being  entered  in  the  register  of  residents maintained under Section 18 of the Act.

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