News & Notes 907:Report of the FAMC, December 2021
Report of the Entity::FAMC over the month of December 2021
Members: Amy, Angelo, Jonas, Lisa, Marc, Palani, Ranjith, Stephan
Invitee: Under Secretary Mr. Srinivasamurthy
Guest: Mr. Kalyani (Office of the Secretary, AVF, auditor)
Secretaries: Svenja, Balaji; FAMC Finance Secretary: Madhan
Topics of special concern of the Entity::Office of the Secretary, Auroville Foundation (AVFO)
“Envisioning Exercise Group”
The Secretary, AVFO, has started an “Envisioning Exercise Group” which usually meets every 2nd Wednesday of the month. A couple FAMC members attend regularly. The FAMC is supposed to give inputs on “Economy” for the development of the Industrial Zone; on housing for 15,000 Aurovilians; on the development of the Industrial Zone; on the management of ACARAT; on self-sustainability; on the Auroville overall budget; on lands for income generation; and on simplifying the structure of entities of the Auroville Foundation, among other matters.
GST sub-committee
The FAMC has been informed that this Committee has been created by the AVFO. The FAMC was not invited to participate.
Discipline Farm
A complaint from one of the residents of Discipline Farm was made to the AVFO. The FAMC plans to appoint a team to make an analysis of all the data that was gathered by an assessment group.
Humanscapes records
Records relating to Humanscapes are still pending submission to AVFO, by the Housing Service.
Maintenance of records
It has been suggested by the AVFO that executives whose term is ending will hand over all records pertaining to the unit to their successor(s) or to the accountant of the Trust to have continuity and guarantee availability of records. The FAMC has noted this request.
Change of purpose of a unit or trust and its management
Mr. Srinivasamurthy stated that henceforth, any change of purpose of a unit or Trust or its management has to be approved by the Secretary, AVF. The FAMC has objected to this in an email stating that it is not in accordance with the mandate of the FAMC approved by the RA, and would imply a change in policy, which needs to be approved by the Resident Assembly. The Office of the Secretary has not replied to the FAMC response.
In regards to statements made by the FAMC
Mr. Srinivasmurthy stated that the FAMC is guided by the Rules of the Foundation and that the Secretary is the convener of the FAMC, as provided by the Rules, and that the Secretary of the AVF wishes to see that the FAMC is on the same page in an harmonious way. This has been noted in the minutes of the FAMC meeting.
TDS refund
The FAMC has requested further information from the Under Secretary about an email from the office of the Auroville Foundation stating that the TDS refund amount would only be disbursed with the approval from the Governing Board. Verbally it has been reported that the Finance Committee is being formed and disbursement approval may be subject to it and the Governing Board.
Maitreye II flat allocation to AVF staff
According to the Under Secretary there is an increasing need for housing as two new staff members have joined the Office of the Secretary, AVF. The FAMC has agreed to allocate one apartment. The understanding between the FAMC and the Under Secretary is that the apartment will be utilized by the Office of the Secretary, AV Foundation for housing a staff member for a duration of one year, after which the time period may be extended. The AVFO will maintain the flat.
Centralized accounting
Draft Standard Operating Procedures (SoP) for Centralized Accounting are in the making which identify levels of access and the process to be followed for changing the chart of accounts.
51 crore budget submission
Mr. Srinivasmurthy brought up the topic of the FAMC’s announcement on Auronet with regard to the “special budget” GoI grant, not having come through any process. He expressed that this should have been avoided as the budget was a “work in progress”. The FAMC members explained that they are the representatives of the Resident Assembly. FAMC is normally involved in budgeting processes that are submitted to the Government of India (GoI). It is the duty of the FAMC to put the facts forward to the community and to inform the community of the non-involvement of the FAMC in this particular budgeting process.
Appeals
General: A change in process has been proposed by the Auroville Council (AVC), but the FAMC considers the proposal still too vague and lacking a timeline of implementation. The FAMC has proposed that all appeals be on hold until the current process, ‘experimental’ in 2017, has been reviewed, updated and approved by the RA. The matter is being further discussed.
Units and Trusts issues
General
i. Guest House Trust. The FAMC met with Guest House Trust (GHT) trustees and discussed
- the accounting of outstanding funds in different collection accounts;
- the status of paying the GST penalties by the various guesthouses and the audit charges wrt to the GST penalties;
- the restructuring of the GH Trust;
- the status of the executive team of the Exploration unit; the communication with the small guest houses; and #the necessary reappointment of new members of the GFCG (Guest Facilities Coordination Group)
ii. Tamil Ulagam. The FAMC is exploring if this activity could function under Village Action Trust instead of the current Auromitra Trust.
iii. ACUR. A summary of the feedback received on ACUR’s vision paper is awaited.
iv. Nirami Studio. A Rs. 17 lakhs loan request is pending awaiting a 5-year business plan, describing the expected revenue that will be generated from the additional equipment which would be purchased with the loan.
Appointment, reappointment or resignation of trustees, unit executives and activity managers
Note: changes concerning trustees are approved in collaboration with the Working Committee.
i. Mayurika Creation, an activity under the unit Auroville Activities (AVA). Managers: Mrs. Grace Nagappan, Mrs. Indirani Sadaiyandi. Approved
ii. Aurokiya, an activity under the unit Harmony Health. Manager: Mr. Vengadesan Natarajan (Aurosugan). Approved
iii. Nature’s Gift, an activity under the unit Auroville Food Activities (AFA). Manager changes. Appointment of Mrs. Rajaveni Balasundharam, resignation of Ms. Karin Latzke and Mr. Sami (Nicolas Alexander). Approved on condition that the manager will secure the proper registration of the required food licenses.
iv. Handy Market, a unit under ABC Trust. Executive reappointment of Mrs. Revathi Iyanar and new executive appointment of Mr. Pradyumna Rathinam. Executive reappointment of Mr. Sathyamoorthy Patchaiappan (Kalia) is pending as FAMC intends to look into the finances of the unit Progress Landscapes and Constructions of which Kalia is one of the executives.
v. Aurosoya, a unit under Free Flow Trust. Appointment of new executive Mr. Chandarana Dhaval. Approved. Resignation of executive Ms. Catia Antonio Duca Cafaro. Approved.
vi. Functional Forms, a unit under ADPS Trust. Reappointment of executives Ms. Shama Dalvi & Ms. Monica Tobar Alvarez. Approved.
vii. Cynergy a unit under ADPS Trust. Reappointment of executive Mr. Ruchir Sharma. Approved.
New activities
i. Sundara, an activity under the unit LEAD (Learn Experience And Develop). Managers: Ms. Rebeca Lopez Isabel, Ms. Teresa Aleman Lopez. Approved.
ii. Yoga Cosmopolite, an activity under the unit LEAD. Manager: Ms. Namah Nugier. Approved.
iii. Svasti, an activity under the unit Harmony Health. Manager: Ms. Aditi Patel. Approved.
iv. The Banyan, an activity under the unit Auro Small Scale Activities (ASSA). Manager: Mr. Mike Lee. Approved.
Changing of activity and domain name
The name of Auroville Timelines, an activity under the unit Auroville Art Service has been changed into “Timelines Auroville” and the domain name to “Film Institute, Auroville”. The activity information will be changed in ACARAT accordingly.
Housing issues
Center Field
The FAMC has sent a request to the Auroville Town Development Council (ATDC) for a detailed measurement (distance between the two black lines on a map provided, & width of the road), and which houses, according to them, will need to be demolished. The FAMC will ask the Housing Service to make a housing valuation of the assets in the Center Field area that would need to be demolished. The ATDC reply is awaited.
Botanical Garden
A request has been made to transform two Botanical Gardens caretaker houses into residential stewardships. This is under review and consideration.
Various topics
Loan issues
A discussion with the debtor and the guarantor of a loan taken from the Unity Fund for creation of a guest house showed that there are different understandings of the concept of a guarantor guaranteeing a timely loan repayment. The guarantor stated that, as the asset has been built and is owned by Auroville, this is the guarantee. He further stated that when no more revenue would be coming into the guest house and everything would collapse, he would be ready to repay the outstanding loan amounts. The FAMC explained its understanding of a guarantor, e.g. that the guarantor will pay monthly installments on behalf of the person who took the loan when that person is not paying on time. It was agreed that parties will meet to work out a proper financial plan. Additionally, FAMC will write a note on the role of the guarantor for future clarification.
Rainwater management
The FAMC supports a proposal from Kireet and will forward it to the BCC to provide Rs 5 lakhs to enlarge existing water catchment areas and to find a solution for rainwater harvesting in the Darkali area, as the proposed Ring Road threatens the existing rain water harvest structures that have been created over the years. The FAMC has expressed appreciation for the work done by Kireet and his willingness to further support this work with his own funds.
Accounting charges
A study done by the FAMC shows that Auroville’s accounting units use widely different rates for the same work. The question came up if Auroville’s accounting units are ‘services’ or ‘income-generating units’ and if accounting charges can be identical for the same type of work. The FAMC Resource Group (FARG) has been asked for its view on the matter.
‘Commercial’ vs. ‘income-generating’
The term “income-generating” vs “commercial” was discussed and needs to be fleshed out further to come up with a proper definition. The term “Furtherance of Auroville” (income tax related term) was mentioned. Guidance from Chartered Accountants will be sought.
FAMC maintenance
The FAMC has decided to ask the Budget Coordination Committee (BCC) for the maintenances of all members and the secretariat team. This is a movement towards the community supporting its working group members instead of the funds coming from a GoI grant.
Foreign donation monitoring
It has been agreed to monitor donations that fall under the Foreign Contribution Regulation Act (FCRA) that are distributed to individual projects from the Unity Fund. Project holders would be requested to submit expense budget and project papers, as applicable, before disbursement. It is noted that not all foreign donations are for ‘projects’. A special branch could be created in the Unity Fund to do the monitoring; additional human resources would be needed. More details to follow.
~ FAMC