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Land Fund Newsletter
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Mission
Auroville Land Fund is a non-profit, fundraising organization of Auroville, an emerging universal township in Tamil Nadu, South India. Operating in harmony with the Auroville Charter, the Land Fund's mission is to gain support for the acquisition of land within the planned Auroville Township area, to be held in trust for “humanity as a whole”.
Vision
The vision of Auroville Land Fund is to secure the land for the realization of a universal city and society dedicated to human unity, evolution of consciousness, and planetary transformation.
Goals
The Auroville Land Fund aims to:
Achievements
Since 1993, the Auroville Land Fund has raised Rs. 12.42 crores or
US $ 2,586,600 from Auroville residents and supporters worldwide with which 659 acres of land within the Auroville Township area were purchased to be held in trust for “humanity as a whole.”
Land acquired through donations to the Auroville Land Fund is being translated into tangible projects of great interest to the local people and India at large, as well as the entire planet:
- transforming desert land into forests;
- protecting precious soil and water resources;
- reintroducing sustainable farming practices;
- offering education, vocational training, and employment opportunities;
- providing health and dental care facilities;
- creating centres for traditional and natural healing;
- promoting renewable energy sources;
- developing homes that combine beauty with
natural building materials;
- implementing rural development programmes that benefit over 100,000 people in the bioregion;
- honouring traditional values that have survived for millennia;
- exploring a material and spiritual synthesis for the future.
More about the history of land purchase.
Challenges
Over the years, Auroville has successfully acquired about half of the land needed to complete the future town through contributions from committed supporters. In recent years, however, acquisition of the land has become more challenging due to several factors:
Escalating Land Prices
Land prices within the Auroville Township have increased by almost 500% over the past 10 years. The rates at which land is being traded in the Auroville area are determined by:
- the close proximity of Pondicherry , one of India 's fastest growing cities;
- the quick transition of the surrounding rural area into a semi-urban region due to the tremendous population pressure;
- Auroville's own development from a small community into an emerging town.
The rapid escalation of land prices is not only a reality for land within the designated Auroville Township , but also for other areas in the surrounding region.
Land Price Graph
Speculators and Real Estate Developers
Real estate speculation and developments within the township area, inconsistent with Auroville's Master Plan, are on the increase. Real estate developers and outside business people are eager 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 on the edge of the Auroville township area. Currently, essential pieces of land within the Green Belt have been bought by outside parties for real estate development. (The Green Belt area has been reserved for environmental conservation and water resource management).
Strip Development along Access Roads
Over the past few years commercial development by outside business owners has mushroomed along the two access roads to Auroville. Further encroachment is very likely to happen where land has not yet been acquired by Auroville. Approximately 150 acres of land along the major access roads needs to be acquired to prevent further detrimental development and to preserve the integrity of the township's master plan and vision.
Auroville's current task is to overcome these challenges in order to acquire the remaining land that is still needed in order to:
- Complete the infrastructure for the future development of the city area;
- Join the existing parcels of forest and organic farm land to form an integral green belt around the city area;
- Unify its efforts to create, together with the local population, a sustainable bioregion in harmony with the Earth.
Once the required acres of land in the township area have been acquired, Auroville can complete its establishment of R&D stations, living laboratories and models for:
- Developing an eco-city
- Integrating rural and urban development
- Protecting forests and sanctuaries for future generations
- Consolidating innovative research and learning centers
- Creating models of biodiversity, sustainable agriculture, and renewable energy
- Developing research on community-building, conflict resolution and interaction between people from different cultures and socio-economic backgrounds
- Playing a leadership role in protecting and preserving our planet by demonstrating how sustainable living works
Auroville Land Details as of 1st January 2003
*including registration charges
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