NEW DELHI/PUDUCHERRY: The Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth and Sports has asked the higher education ministry to intervene after the Auroville Foundation directed residents of Annapurna Farms to vacate their premises within a 10-day period, expressing serious concern over the move.
Panel cites its own recommendation against disturbing Annapurna Farms
Committee chair Mukul Wasnik wrote to higher education secretary Deepti Gaur Mukerjee, urging the ministry to direct the Auroville Foundation to withdraw or keep in abeyance the eviction notices and to refrain from irreversible action, including land transfers, demolitions or evictions, until a formal review is completed.
The panel pointed out that the eviction directive appears to run counter to its earlier findings. In its 371st report, presented to Parliament in December 2025, the committee evaluated a proposed collaboration between the Auroville Foundation and IIT Madras to set up a sustainability campus and specifically warned against locating the campus at the expense of Annapurna Farms.
"Annapurna Farms should not be disturbed and that alternative sites nearby should be found to situate the sustainability campus"
The committee's report emphasised that food self-reliance is central to Auroville's founding vision and observed that the organic agricultural practices at Annapurna Farms align with that ethos. The letter from the committee asked the ministry to ensure that this principle is respected in any future decisions regarding land use in Auroville.
Requests made to the higher education secretary
In the correspondence, the committee sought several concrete actions from the higher education secretary:
- Direct the Auroville Foundation to withdraw or suspend the 10-day eviction notices.
- Obtain a detailed report from the foundation explaining the legal authority and background for issuing the notices.
- Ensure identification of an alternative site for the proposed IIT Madras sustainability campus, as recommended in the committee report.
- Mandate transparency and consultations with all community stakeholders for future land decisions within Auroville.
The panel emphasised that any actions altering the status of Annapurna Farms should be stayed pending review and that consultations with the resident community were necessary before proceeding with land transfers or construction plans.
Implications for Auroville–IIT Madras collaboration
The committee had welcomed the idea of a sustainability campus in principle but was explicit that the project should not compromise Annapurna Farms. By asking the ministry to seek alternatives and a legal explanation for the eviction notices, the panel has brought the dispute into the central administrative domain and signalled that the matter requires scrutiny before further progress on the campus proposal.
The letter also implicitly raises questions about the Auroville Foundation's decision-making processes on land matters and the need for documented legal authority when serving eviction notices affecting longstanding community activities.
Next steps and expectations
By requesting a detailed report from the Auroville Foundation and urging the ministry to hold off on irreversible steps, the parliamentary committee has set an expectation of administrative review and stakeholder consultation. The letter asks that any eviction or land-transfer action be frozen while the ministry examines the foundation's legal basis and considers alternative locations for the proposed campus.
At this stage the ministry's response and any subsequent action by the Auroville Foundation are awaited. The committee's intervention places the matter on the central government's agenda and underscores parliamentarians' insistence that established recommendations — particularly those that protect community land and livelihoods — be respected.
| Item | Detail |
|---|---|
| Committee | Parliamentary Standing Committee on Education, Women, Children, Youth & Sports |
| Chair | Mukul Wasnik |
| Report | 371st report, presented Dec 2025 |
| Immediate demand | Suspend/withdraw 10-day eviction notices; seek detailed explanation from Auroville Foundation |
| Project concerned | IIT Madras–Auroville sustainability campus |
The panel's intervention highlights competing priorities: a central committee's recommendation to preserve agricultural practice and food self-reliance at Annapurna Farms, and the Auroville Foundation's move to clear the site for a proposed institutional project. How the higher education ministry and the foundation reconcile these positions will determine the immediate future of the site and the proposed campus.
