Decision on Residents' Assembly Role in Admission and Termination and Committee Legitimacy

Overview

The Auroville Residents' Assembly conducted an Emergency RAD (Residents' Assembly Decision-making) process in June 2025, initiated by a petition signed by more than 300 residents, to affirm the Residents' Assembly's exclusive authority over admission and termination matters and to declare certain committees invalid. This decision reinforced the community's legal rights under Section 19 of the Auroville Foundation Act.

Participation and Results

• Total participants: 510 registered residents

• Quorum requirement: 10% of eligible residents (244 votes required)

• Total eligible voters: 2,436 confirmed Aurovilians (as of June 2025)

• Participation rate: 21% of eligible residents

• Initiated by: Community petition with over 300 signatures

• Outcome: The resolution was overwhelmingly approved with 98.6% support

The Decision

Result: APPROVED with 98.6% support (503 votes in favour, 1 against, 6 abstentions)

The approved resolution stated:

"The Residents' Assembly (RA) holds the exclusive responsibility to allow the admission or cause the termination of residents as per Section 19 of the Auroville Foundation Act.

Therefore, the Admissions and Terminations Scrutinizing Committee (ATSC), the Admissions and Terminations Registry (ATR), the Human Resources Service (HRS), and the Residence Criteria (RC) are not valid because they were created without consultation or approval of the RA. They do not represent the decisions of, and have not been selected by, the RA.

Additionally, they duplicate the roles of existing RA-recognised groups like the Residents' Service, Entry Board/Service, and Exit Review Committee."

What This Decision Means

The approved resolution represents the Resident's Assembly's assertion of its legal authority over admission and termination processes while rejecting what it viewed as unauthorized parallel structures that bypassed democratic oversight.

The key aspects of this decision include:

• The community affirmed its exclusive responsibility for admission and termination of residents under Section 19 of the Auroville Foundation Act

• Four specific entities were declared invalid:

  • Admissions and Terminations Scrutinizing Committee (ATSC)

  • Admissions and Terminations Registry (ATR)

  • Human Resources Service (HRS)

  • Residence Criteria (RC)

• These committees were rejected because they were:

  • Created without RA consultation or approval

  • Not representative of RA decisions

  • Not selected by the RA

  • Duplicative of existing RA-recognized groups

• The resolution affirmed existing RA-recognized groups:

  • Residents' Service

  • Entry Board/Service

  • Exit Review Committee