ITPI JOURNAL 1 : 3 (2004) 1-13

I T P I JOURNAL
www.itpindia.org

MASTER PLAN OF AUROVILLE UNIVERSAL TOWNSHIP : A BEGINNING TOWARDS ADOPTION OF UDPFI GUIDELINES
D.S. Meshram
Former Chief Planner, TCPO, Government of India, Presently President, ITPI
ABSTRACT The main objective of the paper is to demonstrate that through the planning system as suggested in UDPFI Guidelines, it is possible to realize the basic concept of the Mother, to develop Auroville as a Universal Township and also to achieve the close interaction of Auroville with its surroundings. The UDPFI Guidelines which, inter alia, have recommended a planning system consisting of a set of four interrelated Plans with the Perspective Plan at the apex and Plans of Schemes / Projects at the base with Development Plans and Annual Plans in between, facilitating the implementation of the Perspective Plan. In tune with these Guidelines, the Master Plan (Perspective - 2025) for Auroville Universal Township has been conceived. The Author in fact argues that through the Master Plan of Auroville Universal Township, a begining has been made to adopt the UDPFI Guidelines.

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INTRODUCTION

The Mother in 1965 laid down the basic concept (refer sketches) for the development of Auroville town, delineating important activity areas that will fulfil the vision of making it a Universal Township. The concept envisioned close interaction of Auroville with its surroundings to create a holistic model of development that will complement and not divide human settlements as urban and rural. The surrounding green belt will be a fertile zone for applied research in the sectors of food production, forestry, soil conservation, water management, waste management, village development and other areas essential for sustainable development. The results of such innovative methods can be applied / extended to both rural and urban areas everywhere, particularly in India where the urban rural divide is continually widening. The basic issues which warrant preparation of master plan for Auroville on priority are: (i) lack of adequate housing in Auroville due to which it has not been possible to encourage new residents to settle; (ii) there are still significant patches of land within the city area, not secured by Auroville which are essentially needed to plan and implement costeffective infrastructure / facilities, such as roads, sewerage, water supply, power and communication; (iii) provision of green belt surrounding the city area, as conceived by Mother, dominating agriculture and forest type of uses, so that it is not only integrated

with the existing village settlements, but also with environmental activities that promote water harvesting, aquifer recharge, bio-diversity conservation and recreation; (iv) to prevent non-conforming developments taking place and also to curb speculative elements, which threaten the harmonious use of land; and (v) to realize the basic concepts of making Auroville as a Universal Township as conceived by the Mother. The Mothers Sketch 1965

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AUROVILLE CHARTER

Auroville received the unanimous endorsement of the General Conferences of UNESCO in 1966, 1968, 1970 and 1983. It is now administered under the Auroville Foundation Act (Government of India Act No. 54, dated 29 Sept, 1988). The Basic Charter of the Auroville is as follows:

The author was responsible for the preparation for Auroville Universal Township Master Plan (Perspective Plan: 2025) as Chief Planner, TCPO, Govt. of India and was also the Chairman of Technical Committee which was responsible for drafting UDPFI Guidelines.

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Auroville belongs to nobody in particular. Auroville belongs to humanity as a whole. But to live in Auroville, one must be a willing servitor of the Divine Consciousness, Auroville will be the place of an unending education of constant progress, and a youth that never ages, Auroville wants to be the bridge between the past and the future. Taking advantage of all discoveries from without and from within, Auroville will boldly spring towards future realizations, Auroville will be a site of material and spiritual researches for a living embodiment of an actual Human Unity. UDPFI GUIDE LINES

funds of the state and Central government. Plans of Schemes / Projects are conceived within the framework of the approved Development Plan. Schemes / projects are the working layouts, providing all necessary details for execution, including finance, development, administration and management. These will provide all the required planning, architectural, engineering, financial and administrative details required for execution. In tune with these Guidelines, the Master Plan (Perspective 2025) for Auroville Universal Township has been conceived. 4.0 GOALS AND OBJECTIVES

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Institute of Town Planners, India (ITPI), at the behest of the Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, Government of India, prepared Urban Plan Formulation and Implementation Guidelines (popularly known as UDPFI Guidelines) which inter alia recommended a planning system consisting of a set of four interrelated plans with the perspective plan at its apex and plans of projects / schemes at the base with Development Plans and Annual Plans facilitating the implementation of Perspective Plan. Perspective Plan is a document containing spatioeconomic development policies, strategies and general programmes of local authority, which presents to the state government and people, the intentions of the local authority regarding development of the urban centre in the next 20-25 years. Development Plan is prepared within the framework of the approved Perspective Plan and is a medium term (5 years) comprehensive plan of spatioeconomic development. Development Plan is a statutory document, approved and adopted by the local authority for implementation, which will also be co-terminus with five year plans of state government / local bodies. Annual Plan is to identify the new schemes / projects which the authority will undertake for implementation, during the year, taking into account the physical and fiscal performance of the preceding year, keeping in view the priorities and the proposals contained in the approved Development Plan. These plans would also promote the resource requirements during the year and the sources of funding, including those mobilized by the local authorities i.e. grants, aids and project / scheme
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The broad objective of the Auroville Master Plan (Perspective - 2025), as indicated in the Auroville Foundation Act 1988, is to ensure development of Auroville in a planned manner. In order to meet the requirements of the Act and to realize the vision of the township, the specific objectives of the Master Plan (Perspective - 2025) are: laying down broad policies and directions of growth in the principal zones; determining the hierarchy of roads and access ways; establishing the zoning of land uses on all lands falling within 20 sq.km area of the township; determining the standards for common facilities like education, health and social facilities for the resident population; identifying the social and physical infrastructural needs of the township; identifying the conservation of historic, ecologically sensitive and aesthetically important areas; developing a mechanism for sustainable development harmonizing the needs of environment and development; identifying the requirement of investments; suggesting policies for integrating the neighbouring villages in the Master Plan so as to take advantage and benefit from Aurovilles location for their economic betterment. LOCATION AND CLIMATE

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Location: Located at a distance of 160 km south of Chennai on the East Coast Highway of India ( refer

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map 1), Auroville is just 6 km, north of Pondicherry . Initially the site was a barren plateau traversed by dry canyons and gullied land with hardly any vegetation. Although it is part of Villupuram district of Tamil Nadu, functionally it is closely connected to Pondicherry. The township boundary is in the form of a circle of 2.5 km radius encompassing 20 sq.km. Most of the area lies in Villupuram district and is comprised of the panchayats of Iruribai and Bommapalayam. Small extents of land are in Kottakuppam, Rayapudupakkam, Mathur Panchayats and in Alankuppam, within the Union Territory of Pondicherry. The land is generally of poor quality for agriculture and the entire area was identified as a backward area. Map 1 : Location Map - Auroville Township

May and June are the hottest months with occasional showers. The rainy season is mainly from October to January. The average rainfall is 1230 mm. a year. The prevailing wind blows from the sourth-east. The central part of the designated Auroville township area is above 50 mt. from mean sea level. The site slopes down from the centre to the periphery. The uncontrolled runoff is the main cause for the erosion of adjoining land. The deeper canyons are located mainly in the east and south of the designated area. There are a few water bodies or eris in and around the township, of which Irumbaieri is the largest one. 6.0 EXISTING LAND USE

Since inception of the township, the land in Auroville has changed considerably, from a barren and marginal land in 1968, to today, a developed, and productive land, of course entirely with the efforts of Aurovillians. Out of 20 sq. km, of the designated area of the township, about 12% is presently under urban use and the rest is under agriculture, plantation, and other non-urban uses. The land use pattern (refer Table 1 and Map 2), illustrates that in the developed area, about 41% of land is residential. Public and semipublic use is the next important in the township, accounting above 28% of the developed area. Commercial, manufacturing and other economic activities constitute above 12%; while 13% is under roads and streets serving both urban and non-urban uses. In the township, commercial areas include retail services providing for food and other items of daily necessity, community eating places and the Visitors Information Centre with its exhibition space and sales section of products made in Auroville and the guest houses. While, manufacturing uses comprised of about 100 large and small manufacturing and processing units, the products of which are marketed locally as well as internationally. The extent of land occupied by such units range from small plots of 5075 sq. mt. to 5 ha. The public and semipublic uses include amenities such as, schools, health facilities, and areas occupied by services and utilities. Peace area forming part of public and semipublic uses is the most special area in Auroville. It is the centre of Auroville, which contains the Matrimandir the soul of Auroville, the Urn and Amphitheatre consecrated at the foundation ceremony, the central Banyan tree, the lake and the well laid-out gardens around the
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Pondicherry city with a population of about 1 lakh (1991) is the largest urban centre (refer Map 1) at a distance of 6 km to its south while Tindivanam, Hq. of Tindivanam taluk with a population of over 60,000 is about 25 km to the north-west. Cuddalore town, further south of Pondicerry is another important urban centre with a population of about 1.5 lakh. To the north of Auroville, at a distance of about 10 km, lies the Kaliveli tank, a unique environmental resource in the region. To the south is another major water bodythe Ustery tank, an important source for irrigation. Climate Auroville has a tropical climate. The dry season usually lasts for seven months from January to July.

Bay of Bengal

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Map 2 : Existing Land Use - Auroville

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Table 1 : Existing Land Use 2000 Land Use A. 1. Developed Area Residential 95 a) Village settlements (20) b) Auroville communities (75) Commercial 19 Manufacturing & Economic Activities 10 Public & Semi-public uses including 65 peace area, gardens and area under administration / institution. Roads / streets 30 Recreational (playgrounds) 13 Sub-total B. Unbuilt Area 598 990 (50) (940) 19 45 98 1750 1982 34.2 2.9 53.7 1.0 2.6 5.6 100.0 100.0 232 40.9 Area in ha Percentage

2. 3. 4. 5. 6.

8.2 4.3 28.0 13.0 5.6 100.0

1. Regenerated land 2. Agriculture a) Agricultural & related research b) Farming 2. Commercial 3. Water bodies 4. Canyon, waste and other lands Sub-total Grand Total Matrimandir. At present recreational uses are mainly in the form of a few playgrounds located close to residential communities, such as, the centre field and certitude play area. Roads which provide access to Auroville are the East Coast Road and the Pondicherry Tindivanam road. However, within the township there are temporary gravel and mud roads providing access to various facilities / settlements in Auroville, some of which will be replaced once the planned roads are built. Agriculture and related uses include lands used by Aurovilians either for food production (including vegetables and fruits) needed by residents or for research in improving farm practices and diversifying cropping patterns; the Auro-orchard and Pitchandikulam medicinal herbal stations are some of the typical examples. In most of the cases both production and research are carried out together. Most of these are based on organic farming practices.
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Canyons are a unique feaure in the landscape of Auroville and its surroundings. These deep gullies have been formed due to erosion. Some of them are 2.5 km. long and 20-30 mt. wide and 2-5 mt. deep. There are five water-bodies eris in the area of which two are large in size, namely the Irumbai eri and the Alankuppam eri. These are seasonal water bodies which help to irrigate small extents of land, particularly after the rainy season. 7.0 ASSIGNED POPULATION AND DENSITY

Auroville township has been planned for an ultimate population of 50,000, who will come and stay here for accomplishing a special task to carry out spiritual as well as material research. A systematic development of infrastructure will attract working age persons to Auroville from all over the world, which is projected to be in the range of 15,000 by 2010 and 50,000 around 2025.

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The main concentration of Aurovilles population will be in the residential zone. The overall density in the residential zone will be 240 person / ha. The proposed development would be achieved in a unique way i.e. lower density areas closer to the Crown and, higher density area closer to the green belt, as per the original concept. The objective of the design is twofold viz: (i) to establish that urban areas can, and should achieve overall high densities, not compromising on the form, amenities and without sacrificing or reducing the extent of open spaces, which determine the quality of environment and life; and (ii) to establish that urban areas should avoid, to the maximum extent possible, conversion of agriculture lands for urban use. The residential zone is proposed to be delineated into ten sectors of 10 ha. each approximately. Each of these sectors will be developed at varying densities from 100 persons / ha to 640 persons / ha particularly in high-rise building blocks in a wide range of urban forms. The net residential areas would be about 100 ha. which would provide a residential floor space of 1,500,000 sq.mt. (FAR 150) that could accommodate the entire 50,000 persons at an average floor space of 30 sq.mt. / person. The floor space per person will be in the order of 30 sq. meters and 55% of the area will remain unpaved. 8.0 PROPOSED LAND USE

There will be an intense and close interrelationship between the city area and the outside rural area, including the green belt, which will be of a synergical nature. Each would complement the other and support the activities in the urban and rural sectors, and encourage rural urban continuum. Land Use in the City Area In line with the concept, the City Area is proposed to have the Peace Area with the Matrimandir, the Banyan tree, the lake, the amphitheatre and the gardens in the centre and residential zone, international zone, industrial zone and cultural zone (refer table 2 and map 3) around it: The activities of the cultural zone represent unending education; international zone shows acceptance of Aurovilles universality; industrial zone emphasises on the importance of a strong economic base; residential zone gives realization of human oneness; and green belt manifests environmental, economic, spiritual as well as material sustainability. The green belt activities subserve internal requirements of the town as well as the external requirements of the region. All these activities emanate from the central theme of living and working for an actual human unity the underlying message of all religions and philosophies the Divine Presence, which is signified in the Peace Area by the Matrimandir, the timeless banyan tree and the amphitheatre containing the soils from all parts of India as well as from all over the world. There is another special use zone, which will travers all the four zones in a concentric fashion, with a width of about 75 meters, consisting of a circular road with buildings facing it. This is termed as the Crown Area. This Crown Area will provide most of the service facilities required to support the activities in the proposed four zones mentioned above. The development in the Crown Area will naturally be somewhat different, depending upon its proximity or interface with each zone. For the purposes of zoning regulations, the Crown Area is considered as separate zone under each of the four zones. In the proposed land use structure public and semipublic uses constitute a large percentage of the total area because Auroville is conceived and designed as a Universal Township, which will provide a number of international pavilions, cultural and educational
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The entire Auroville township is sensitive from the environmetal and ecological points of view. The areas under check dams, regenerated lands, and plantation are some of the important environmental resources for developing the township in a sustainable manner, of course keeping in view the basic ideals of the development of town and the innovative approaches being practised / developed in Auroville. The land use structure, therefore, is based on the premise: (a) the built-up area consisting of buildings and developments for residential, cultural, manufacturing, commercial and utility uses, international pavilions and the open spaces would evolve around the Matrimandir, with its garden in the centre of the township and (b) the largely unbuilt part consisting of agricultural uses, regenerated forests, tanks, water bodies, channels, and a number of green activities linked to the promotion of sustainable development would encircle the builtup area and also act as interface between the city and its bio-region.

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Map 3 : Proposed Land Use - Auroville

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Table 2 : Detailed Land Use in City Area 2025 Use 1. Residential 2. Commercial 3. Industrial 4. Public & Semipublic a.Matrimandir b. Pavillions c. Educational & cultural d. Administration, utilities and other uses. 5. Open space & recreation 6. Transport & communication Total Area in ha 121 20 56 159 (28) (38) (73) (20) 46 89 491 % 24.64 4.10 11.40 32.38 (5.70) (7.73) (14.86) (4.07) 9.36 18.12 100 Peace Area International Zone Cultral and Residential Industrial and other zones To be provided in all zones To serve all zones. Remarks Residential Zone 80%other zones 20% Mostly in Crown Area connecting the zones Industrial Zone / Manufacturing units

Note: Excluding the urban uses in the green belt which extends to 156 ha including roads.

centres of a high order, transport and communications, including roads, cycle tracks, footpaths, etc. Land Use in the Green Belt Zone The unbuilt area in the green belt zone will broadly have three categories of land uses, viz. agriculture and farming, forest and land regeneration and recreational areas. Their development is designed to promote bio-diversity, environmental restoration, land regeneration, water management, and technology transfer of the above activities for wider application. This will make the green belt not only an asset to Auroville and the surrounding villages but also a National Resource Centre (NRC) for sustainable development. Agriculture and Farming The western part of the green belt consisting of eris, natural drainage channels and village settlements, is reserved for intense agricultural development, covering approximately 500 ha. At present, these lands are vacant or marginally used. They will be utilized to set up prototype farms for raising appropriate crop varieties that can be efficiently produced in different geographic conditions in Tamil Nadu, in order to replicate them for the benefit of farmers in these areas. Re-generated Land and Plantations The eastern part of the green belt, which has already been developed with dense plantation of trees, acts
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as a barrier against cyclonic strong winds coming from the coast, which were till recently the main cause for soil erosion, gully formation and degradation of land. These lands occupy about 5,650 ha. They will be utilized to strengthen the ongoing work of land regeneration, re-establishing indigenous forest vegetation, propagation of bio-diversity through gene pools and seed banks, instituting zero runoff parameters and practices. This part of the green belt will also serve the Auroville township to carry out waste water treatment and recycling, solid waste management and experiments for producing alternative energy through use of bio-mass and waste. Recreation One of the several purposes of the green belt is also to provide open air recreational facilities for the inhabitants. An extent of 256 ha has been designated for this purpose, which will also include a botanical garden in addition to agro and social forestry for the benefit of neighbouring villages. Service Nodes Two kinds of service nodes are proposed. These service nodes are provided in the green belt at the intersection of the four main access roads linking the township and the city area. The first one would be called Primary Node and the latter one, the Secondary Service Node. These service nodes will provide adequate parking and transshipment space

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Map 4 : Hierarchy of Roads - Auroville

for changing over to non-polluting mode before entering the city ( Refer Map 4 ). These service nodes will also offer other facilities for providing a convenient interface with neighbouring village settlements. 9.0 PHYSICAL INFRASTRUCTURE

to be 30 meters. These two ring roads will help in distributing the traffic to the different zones. The entire city area has been envisaged as a nonpolluting vehicular zone. Accordingly, the ring road circumscribing the city area will be used progressively by non-polluting vehicles. Internal distribution roads: The internal distribution roads consists of vehicular roads as well as pedestrian and cycle paths. The rights-ofway of vehicular roads would vary between 18-24 mt, depending upon its functions. Pedestrian and cycle paths: These will be integrated with open spaces and green corridors. A minimum of 3 meter width would be reserved for pedestrian and cycle movement. In addition to the main categories of roads discussed above, two bypass roads are also suggested: one in the north and another in the south of the township to facilitate diversion of traffic which is not destined to Auroville. Water Supply The Auroville region gets an average rainfall of around 120 cm / annum. In spite of such good amount of rainfall, the water situation in the region is not satisfactory because of excessive runoff, limited
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Road Network The road network, is planned to meet the future requirement of traffic and for smooth functioning of the township ( Refer Map 4 ). The types of roads and access ways in order of hierarchy are as under: Access roads to Auroville: Four principal accesses are proposed. Two from the Tindivannam-Pondicherry road, connecting the industrial zone and the international zone. The other two accesses are from the east coast road(ECR), which would link the residential zone and the cultural zone. Thus each zone will have an independent access from state / national highways, these roads will provide link to outer ring road of the city. City ring roads: Two ring roads are proposed within the city area, one circumscribing the four main use zones and other adjoining the utility zone, which is designated as the Crown road. The right-of-way of these roads is also suggested

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surface storage and inadequate knowledge of aquifer storage areas. Evaporation losses are also considerable due to high temperature in the area which goes up as high as 38.8 in June. HydroC geological studies made so far revealed that there is adequate potential for ground water supply of potable water of good quality as long as there is no saline intrusion due to over-extraction. These studies also revealed that water could be tapped both from open wells (3 to 12 mt. below ground level) and tube wells. The estimated total yield from rainwater is 25.48. The runoff itself is estimated between 7.70 mcum and 2.84, giving an average of 5.28 mcum. The annual requirements of water will range from 0.383 mcum to 3.650 mcum. It is therefore clear that the per capita requirement should be based in such a way that the extraction is within safe limits of availability taking into consideration that the rainfall will not be uniform in all years, and also the possibilities of over-extraction and some withdrawal of water for irrigation purpose. It is, therefore, proposed to adopt the standard of 200 lcpd to meet the total requirements of the township and residential supply will be limited to 135 lcpd. The annual water requirements for a population of 15,000 would, therefore, be about 3 million litre per day or 1.1 mcum per year. Aurovilles work in water management so far has been characterised by principles of zero runoff, conservation, and recycling and reuse of waste water. Sewerage, Sanitation and Solid Waste Auroville has been experimenting with septic tanks, imhoff tanks, (both individual and at community level), leach pits and root zone treatment of sewerage for compact communities. The use of such facilities will continue in the cultural and international zones as well as in the green belt developments. Separate, partially centralized systems of collection and treatment will be considered only for the industrial and residential zones to avoid contamination of ground water. The approach to sanitation will be through the use of a variety of night soil disposal methods, which include toilets / latrines of various designs and disposal methods. These will include FOLs connected to individual or community treatment facilities. Extreme care will be taken to see that these systems do not pollute the underground water resources on which Auroville and its neighborhood depend.
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Drainage: the storm water drainage system will be provided to fully support the zero runoff concept. Already many check dams across the canyons and earthen dams along and across roads divert the runoff into the ground below. In addition, Auroville is exploring rooftop water harvesting and a major proposal for collecting the excess runoff within the green belt and pumping it out to a central lake to be created as a major water management project. The infiltration from the lake would regularly recharge the aquifers and prevent saline intrusion into the aquifers due to over extraction that may occur outside Auroville. The western part of the green belt extending from Alankuppam village to Irumbai village is a good aquifer recharge and storage area, which can be used for water recovery when needed. These proposals will have greater relevance for the ultimate phase, but studies have already been commenced. Solid waste management in Auroville, presently, consists of sorting at source, efficient collection and recycling of both organic and non-organic wastes. Incinerable wastes are built in a two chambered LPG fuelled incinerator at 800 at the Auroville Health C Centre. Some of the non-recyclable wastes like batteries, rubber items, thermocole, film, glass and PET are stored in a special storage facility until a market or acceptable environment friendly disposal solution is found. The first phase developments are anticipated to generate about 7 to 12 tons of waste based on a per capita generation of 0.5 to 0.75 kg. This would include garden wastes within the city area but exclude waste from the green belt. The waste generated in the green belt would be utilized either as biomass fuel for producing electricity or for conversion into soil nutrients and enriches. The approach to solid waste management will include: (i) finding practical and ecological packing alternatives to reduce non- degradable wastes, (ii) sorting wastes at source into 5 or 6 streams paper, plastic, metal glass, organic, batteries, etc., (iii) converting recyclable wastes into useful products. This would include conversion of compostable material to spoil enriches, (iv) using bondable debris as road / building material, (v) using incinerable wastes to generate electricity, (vi) scientific and safe disposal of biomedical and hazardous wastes.

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Auroville with its past experience will initiate and promote the zero garbage concept to the maximum, so that no dumping or sanitary landfill is needed. Transportation of solid waste for disposal will also be minimal. Power-Energy Concerned with the ecological implications of energy consumption, Auroville has been experimenting from the beginning with the use of renewable energy sources such as sun and wind that are continuously available, as opposed to fossil fuels (coals, oil, etc.). Aurovilles vision is to become energy independent and self-sufficient, with all its energy requirements met from renewable sources. Auroville, in co-operation with Departments of Government of India, has installed a 36.3 KW solar P.V. power plant close to the Matrimandir, which is the largest stand-alone solar power plant in the country. A unique solar bowl has also been installed on the roof of the Solar Kitchen which generates enough energy to cook meals for about 1,000 persons a day for the Auroville community. Due to limitations of technology and high cost, Auroville will have to draw its major power requirements for the first phase from the Tamil Nadu Electricity Board grid. Auroville is now drawing 2.1 million KW of power per year from TNEB and its demand in the first phase would be in the order of 20 million KW per year based on the present per capita energy consumption. Conservation measures are expected to bring this down to about 14 million KW. In order to fulfil its energy objectives Auroville is considering two important avenues, namely (i) to build a wind farm in southern Tamil Nadu that would supply energy to the TNEB grid which could be drawn at Auroville, and (ii) to build gasifier plants in Auroville to draw energy from bio-mass resources in the region. Proposals for pilot plants of 3 MW total capacity are under consideration. Tele-communication The requirement of 10,000 telephone lines for Auroville is based on the fact that it will have a proportionately larger number of resource persons engaged in several activities of sustainable development which naturally means that use of computers would be more or less universal. Accordingly, the Auroville Telephone Services is negotiating with the Department of Telecommunications to fulfil its future requirements of 10,000 telephone lines.
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10.0 SOCIAL INFRASTRUCTURE The social infrastructure in Auroville will consist of two distinct parts, namely the facilities needed by the residential population (which is predominantly located in the residential zone) and the other facilities that will be part of the main function of the Auroville Universal Township. The latter will be located mainly in the International and Cultural Zones. The social infrastructure required for serving the residential population is proposed to be at four levels, namely: Cluster or community level serving a population of 250 persons; Sector level serving a population of 1,000 persons; Neighbourhood level serving a population of 5,000; City / District level initially serving a population of 15,000 persons and ultimately to a target of 50,000 persons.

The social infrastructure has been worked out for a population of 15,000 Aurovilians that is to be achieved in the first phase. The facilities indicated under city / district level are worked out for a population of 15,000, but will also serve the needs of more population as the city grows. During periodical review, the requirement of infrastructure for the increasing population would be assessed in the Development Plans after every five years and provided as per necessity. (as per UDPFI Guidelines). Tourist Facilities Auroville by its very concept and the diverse activities in which it is involved will draw a large number of visitors, both from abroad as well as from within the country, to experience both spiritual and material experiments and progress. It will also attract a number of general tourists, particularly to visit the Matrimandir and to shop for special handicraft works, for which Auroville is becoming an important centre, both nationally and internationally. Facilities for this activity are being provided at strategic points within the city area itself as well as in the service nodes, provided at the 4 approaches to the city. Such facilities will consist of guesthouses, restaurants, information centres and other amenities required by tourists. 11.0 IMPLEMENTATION AND MONITORING The implementation of the Master Plan (Perspective2025) for Auroville requires a more structured

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Diagram 1 : Organisational Sturcture for Implementation of Master Plan (Perspective - 2025)

Planning Group

Implement tion and a Monitoring Group

Resource Mobilization and Funding

Town Planning and Urban Design

Infrastructure Construction Maintenance Water & Waste Management

Applied Research on Sustainable Development

Individuals & groups concerned with physical implementation of work

Detailed Development and Annual Plans

Built Environment

Development Regulations

Roads & Transport

Village Development

Data Surveys, Mapping and Information

Power & Communications

Bio-region & Environment Studies

Monitoring

Greening and Environmental

Documentation

Building Development

Outreach and Dissemination

Resident Participation s

organizational setup than hitherto available. Accordingly, organizational structure ( Refer Diagram 1 ) will consist of the Planning Group which will be responsible for preparation of the Five Year Development Plans followed by Annual Plans and Layout Plans / Detailed Schemes within the framework of Master Plan (Perspective - 2025)as suggested in UDPFI Guidelines. The implementation and monitoring of the projects will continue to be the responsibility of the concerned AV group through their project leaders. However, the overall coordination and monitoring of the work will be the responsibility of the Planning Group. The implementation of the Master Plan will require full support and involvement of the State Government
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of Tamil Nadu and Pondicherry UT, specifically for (a) widening of four main access ways to the township, because present accesses are narrow and pass through the village settlements. Besides, in the longer term it would also be necessary to establish the northern and southern by-passes connecting the East Coast Road (ECR) and Tindivanam-Pondicherry Road to facilitate easy and direct access between these highways; (b) for securing the lands that are not under the ownership of Auroville but developments proposed in the Master Plan. For securing land, various options such as, land exchange, lease of land, land pooling techniques, etc., have been suggested; and (c) for the development of villages within the designated area of Auroville as well as those in its bio-region.

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12.0 PHASING AND RESOURCE MOBILISATION The Master Plan (Perspective - 2025) is conceived to cater to the total population of 50,000 while by the year 2010, it is expected to accommodate 15,000 population. The Five Year Development Plan (20012006) proposals also have been given along with Five Year programme for overall city development and special projects. In the Development Plan proposals for 2001-2006, Auroville proposes to invest Rs.350 crore on infrastructure development to accommodate the population growth, the sources of funding have also been identified. The summary of the investments for 2001-2006 in residential, international, industrial and cultural zones have also been worked out in detail. 13.0 REVIEW OF THE MASTER PLAN Although the Master Plan (Perspective - 2025) indicates a time horizon of 25 years, it will neither be traditional Master Plan nor a static and rigid plan / document. In the framework of Perspective 2025, the Planning Group would prepare the Five Year Development Plan (as suggested in UDPFI Guidelines) comprising of the priority items to be taken up for development. At the close of the First Five Year Development Plan, the progress / requirements would be assessed / reviewed and second phase Five Year Development Plan would be prepared on the basis of the feedback obtained from the field / monitoring, which will be followed by further Five Year Development Plans for every five years. The inputs for the review will flow from implementation of Five Year Development Plans and monitoring of Land Use Regulations. Two Groups, namely Planning

Group and Implementation & Monitoring Group will assemble necessary data required for such review. The review process will follow the same process as the preparation of the Perspective Plan and will be approved by the Governing Board in consultation with the supervisory Ministry, namely the Ministry of Human Resource Development, Government of India. 15.0 CONCLUSIONS The Master Plan (Perspective 2025) have been conceived to realize the basic concept of Mother, to make Auroville a Universal Township. Efforts have been made in the Master Plan to adopt planning system as suggested in UDPFI Guidelines consisting of four interrelated plans i.e. Perspective Plan (long term policy document) followed by Development Plans (five years), Annual Plans (co terminus with Five Year / Annual Plans of State Government / Local Body) and plans of projects schemes. It is expected that Auroville would endeavour to develop the township in the spirit it has been conceived, which will go a long way in promoting and establishing foundation for sustainable development. Besides, it would testify the efficacy of the planning system recommended by the UDPFI Guidelines. However, there is no doubt that through the Master Plan of Auroville Universal Township, a beginning has been made to adopt the UDPFI Guidelines.
References 1.

Auroville Universal Township Master Plan (Perspective 2025) prepared by Town and Country Planning Organisation, Ministry of Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation, Govt. of India, in 2001. Urban Development Plan Formulation and Implementation Guidelines prepared by Institute of Town Planners, India, in August 1996.

2.

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