Securing the land

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The 'joining hands' land fund matching program is over;
look for more information:
http://www.aviusa.org/
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in Organisation & Credential section
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Change of land use

Today's landowners are not any more the traditional farmers, who are ploughing their fields and harvesting local grains as was still practiced a few decades ago. The sons of these farmers often work in the nearby town of Pondicherry or have a regular occupation in Auroville with a steady income. The land is mainly used for cashew or casuarina cultivation, which provide an additional source of cash revenue for the owner. Pesticides, which are harmful for the soil, the watershed and human beings, are heavily sprayed during the season and damage Auroville's ongoing environmental regeneration efforts.

Soaring land prices

Due to the population pressure in the Pondicherry region and Auroville’s development itself, land within the Auroville Township area has become a potential commodity for big financial gain, both in the eyes of landowners as well as speculators.

As a result: land prices have skyrocketed by almost 650% over the past 10 years.

Speculators & real estate developers

Real estate speculation and developments within the township area, inconsistent with Auroville’s Master Plan, are on the increase, thereby threatening Auroville’s future. Real estate developers and business people are trying to profit from Auroville's growth and its worldwide attraction of visitors and guests. Restaurants, guesthouses, travel services, massage centres and shops are already booming in the neighbourhood. They may soon extend their commercial tentacles into the planned Auroville Green Belt, which is a very sensitive and critical area for environmental conservation and water resource management. Already, some crucial pieces of land in the Green Belt have been bought by outside parties for real estate development.

Auroville finds itself today at a crucial junction. If market forces are allowed to dominate, the entire development of Auroville may suffer seriously.

Help is urgently needed!

So far, Auroville has acquired almost half of the land through contributions from within Auroville itself and from friends and well-wishers worldwide. As an urgent priority, Auroville still needs to purchase about 200 acres in the City Area and approx. 600 acres for the immediate consolidation and protection of the Green Belt. For these 800 acres, we anticipate a total cost of Rs. 30 crores (US$ 6.25 million or Euro 6 million).

In addition, 320 acres for adequate access roads to the future city and, eventually, 1400 acres for the completion of the Green Belt in its entirety need to be secured.
Today, with increasing land speculation and the growing danger of real estate developers buying up land for private business ventures, the purchase of the remaining land for Auroville has become an urgent necessity

Land Details as on 1st January 2003

Area	Land already owned by Auroville	Land still to be acquired by Auroville	Current Land Prices* per acre	Amount in Rs.	Amount in US $	Amount in Euro
City Area	959 acres or 387 hectares	194 acres or 78 hectares	Rs. 5 lakhs US $ 10,500 Euro 10,000	Rs. 9.70 crores	$ 2.02 million	Euro 1.94 million
Green Belt	1068 acres or 431 hectares	2054 acres or 829 hectares	Rs. 2.50 lakhs US $ 5,250 Euro 5,000	Rs. 51.35 crores	$ 10.70 million	Euro 10.27 million
Total	2027 acres or 818 hectares	2248 acres or 907 hectares		Rs. 61.05 crores	$ 12.72 million	Euro 12.21 million

* prices including registration charges

How to donate?

For your convenience, we have designed a separate page that gives all instructions about how to donate to the “Land for Auroville” cause.
We give you here some idea of the average amounts needed for acquiring different sized areas of land at present market rates, including registration charges:

100m²	Rs. 6,875	US$ 125	Euro 135
1000 m²	Rs. 68,750	US$ 1,450	Euro 1,350
1 acre	Rs. 2.75 lakhs	US$ 5,800	Euro 5,400
1 hectare	Rs. 6,80 lakhs	US$ 14,375	Euro 13,380

Any contribution, big or small, is gratefully accepted and will be acknowledged

All donations to Auroville Land Fund are solely used for the acquisition of land by the Auroville Foundation, an autonomous institution created by an Act of Parliament in 1988, that holds all assets and lands of Auroville 'in trust for humanity as a whole'.
All purchases are accounted for, and the accounts of the Auroville Foundation are annually audited by the Comptroller and Auditor General of India and laid before the Houses of Parliament. For further information, please contact:

For further information or donations, please contact: landfund@auroville.org.in

Auroville Land Fund
CSR Office
Auroshilpam
Auroville 605 101
Tamil Nadu, India

Tel: +91 413 2622168 / 2622277 Fax: +91 413 2622057

or the Auroville International Centre in your country.

Any contribution, big or small, is gratefully accepted.

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