News & Notes 605:Land board report May and June 2015

News & Notes 605 11 July 2015

Entity::Land board report May and June 2015

Encroachment, exchange, purchase, protection, mapping and admin issues covered in May and June 2015:

1. We are happy to share that the Auroville Foundation has won the case going on at the Vanur court against Murugan Ganesan (land behind Matrimandir – cycle path) due to the intense efforts put in by our advocate Narayan Bahety and we thank him wholeheartedly for his services.
2. We have purchased R.S No 407/4 ext 1.60 acres that we took possession of, in the Inner city area close to Matrimandir. This piece was funded by Acres for Auroville
3. We entered into an Agreement to sell for IR R.S.No.207/7,8 about 1 acre for a piece of land near Reve. This is in the City area.
4. We purchased 66 cents of land in the Green Belt / Pitchandikulam BO 63/6B to consolidate that part of the land. Rs. 5 lakhs is being donated by the Pitchandikulam residents towards this purchase.
5. Since January 2015 the Land Board has bought / taken possession of 8.61 acres of new land in the Master Plan area.
6. Land board members with the facilitation of the Kuilapalayam cultural association group (Hari / Suryagandhi / Selvaraj) are having a series of dialogues with elected and traditional village leaders to evaluate the use of the lands within and around the settlement area of Kuilapalayam village. This is ongoing.
7. All of you must be aware of the issue that happened in Srima where Auroville land was encroached by James court and the action we had taken with a large support group from Auroville. The Srima survey is to be completed. We wish to heartily thank each and every person who supported us and stood by while trying to solve the difficult problem.
8. A long pending survey at Annapurna Farm was finished and FAMC approved funds to make a fence on that side of the boundary.
9. Two important fencing projects at Bharatipuram and the International Zone have been initiated, as there has been creeping encroachments. FAMC has approved a ferrocement slab fence for these vulnerable boundaries.
10. The Land Board members met with a FAMC sub group and LRD members to review the outlying lands which can be exchanged and developed. As Auroville cannot sell lands (prevented due to a Government Ordinance) any developments needing outside finances are not viable due to this limitation.
11. The Land Board would like to appeal to all Aurovilians to monitor the fences in their settlements, forest and farms to prevent encroachment and contact the land board if there are any encroachments and land grabs.
12. We met with members of the Housing Board to identify plots where there should be caretakers living on the land to counter potential encroachment and land grab.
13. We met with our advocate Narayan Bahety along with the Working Committee and Secretary in charge, regarding the new case assigned to him. PK Devdass, a neighbor has filed a case against the Auroville Foundation and Bernd and this case is now going on at the Vanur court.
14. More than 160 patta transfers were pending from previous purchases and exchanges. Land Board has initiated the tedious process of completing and updating the land records at the Sub Registrar Office Vanur to finish this vital and important step to correct the Government records.
15. We continue to meet FAMC regarding encroachment and land purchase issues regularly.
16. For all units interested to buy firewood or timber quality wood you may please contact (0413 262 2657) and fix an appointment.

~ Landboard (Divya, Gerard, Kannyappan, Prasad, Sandeep, Suhasini, Sukrit )