Plea to stall Auroville land use for housing binned

Chennai: Madras high court rejected a plea moved by a ‘permissive resident' of Auroville Foundation seeking to stall the decision of the foundation to use 18.37acres of vacant land owned by it for housing within the Auroville Master Plan area and green belt. A permissive resident is an individual permitted to occupy a property with the consent of the owner.Justice M Dhandapani, dismissing the plea by Tracy Alison Skoles, held that a permissive resident had no legal right over the land and that only the governing body of the foundation had statutory authority to decide how foundation's lands were utilised.The court, however, granted liberty to the petitioner to make a representation to the foundation to continue residing in the same place, or seek allotment of alternative accommodation elsewhere, since they built houses with permission of the foundation.According to the petitioner, she, along with 10 others, was a permissive resident of the property and lived on the land since 1986. They invested funds in developing the land, constructing houses, and afforestation activities, converting barren coastal land into an ecological habitat.In Nov 2025, they were informed by the working committee of the foundation that there was a proposal to exchange the 18.37acres for housing within the Auroville Master Plan area. The petitioner alleged procedural violations and a lack of consultation by the foundation before arriving at the decision.Opposing the plea, the foundation contended that the residents only had advisory and recommendatory functions, which could not override the powers of governing board. "The governing body is empowered under the Auroville Foundation Act to manage and deal with the properties of the foundation, including land exchange," it said.