This document forms part of the public record of administrative corruption at the Auroville Foundation, published at
aurovillefoundationrecord.netlify.app. Every named individual was formally contacted and given the opportunity to correct any inaccuracies before finalisation.
Note on terminology: References in this document to the “Auroville Foundation” refer specifically to the Foundation Office, its Secretary, and the Governing Board. The Residents’ Assembly, which forms part of the broader Auroville Foundation structure, has repeatedly and overwhelmingly opposed the conduct documented here and is not implicated in it.
All entries are sourced from official correspondence, public registries, government documents, or community records. Source references appear beneath each entry. All named individuals have been given the opportunity to correct any inaccuracies.
The ATDC formally rejected the Youth Centre’s collaborative road alignment proposal in December 2021, issued the short-notice work order that preceded the physical destruction, and was a joint signatory to the eviction notice of 9 December 2025. On 8 May 2026, an official ATDC auto-reply confirmed that atdc@auroville.org.in has been discontinued and merged with avenir@auroville.org.in. The auto-reply was signed by: Dr G. Seetharaman, Hemant, Jaya, Ponnusamy, Sindhuja and Toby — formally confirming current ATDC membership on the record.
(ATDC official auto-reply — 8 May 2026)
Tobias Stephanus Neuman
ATDC Member — legal name: Neuman Tobias Stephanus (DIN 01880092) — also director of Varuna Energy & Water Private Limited and Basic Water Needs (India) Private Limited — see full entry under Behind the Scenes, Category 8
- Appointed to the ATDC during the 2020–2021 restructuring period. Believed to have served during the period of documented harm to the Youth Centre
(Auroville Foundation Office Order 491/2021; Auroville Wiki)
- Simultaneously confirmed director of Varuna Energy & Water Private Limited and Basic Water Needs (India) Private Limited under legal name Neuman Tobias Stephanus — a direct and documented conflict of interest between his planning authority role and his involvement with private water companies operating in the same development area. See full entry under Category 8
(Ministry of Corporate Affairs public registry — DIN 01880092)
Sindhuja Jagadeesh
Legal Coordinator, Auroville Foundation Office — simultaneously holding six institutional roles including Head of Urban Planning, ATDC Member, Media Content Vetter, Official Spokesperson, and HR Service Member
- Authored formal correspondence attacking the anonymity of complainants rather than addressing substantive allegations
(Letter 28 March 2026)
- Called for social media account operators of the Youth Centre to be identified and investigated by the Ministry of Education
(Letter 3 April 2026)
- Described the Youth Centre as “extremely dirty shacks” in formal correspondence copied to all major Indian newspapers
(Letter 3 April 2026)
- Made a legal threat against formal complainants, describing correspondence as “actionable”
(Letter 3 April 2026)
- Called on the Ministry of Education to identify and suppress witnesses
(Letter 3 April 2026)
- Responded to formal complaints as if an independent resident while simultaneously holding six institutional roles — a direct and documented conflict of interest
Joel van Lierde
ATDC Member — also member of ATSC, ATR — witnessed on the ground during clearings. Full entry under Category 7
- Believed to have served on the ATDC during the period of documented harm
(Community records)
- Simultaneously confirmed member of ATSC and ATR — bodies with authority over residency status and terminations in Auroville. See full entry under Category 7, Physical Clearings for complete documentation including FIR records and formal correspondence
(Joel van Lierde formal correspondence — 11 May 2026)
Jaya Berggreen-Clausen
ATDC Member
- Believed to have served on the ATDC during the period of documented harm
(Foundation working groups public statement — May 2026; community records)
Ponnusamy Murugesan
ATDC Member
- Believed to have served on the ATDC during the period of documented harm
(Foundation working groups public statement — May 2026; community records)
Hemant Shekhar
ATDC Member
- Believed to have served on the ATDC during the period of documented harm
(Community records)
Dr G. Seetharaman
Member Secretary, ATDC / L’Avenir
- Believed to have served as Member Secretary during the period of documented harm
(Community records)
Anuradha Legrand (also known as Anu Majumdar)
Working Committee Member — Foundation-Appointed
- Confirmed Working Committee member during the December 2021 Youth Centre crisis. An Auroville Today article directly noted that members of the Working Committee were present during late-night meetings preceding bulldozer deployment at the Youth Centre
(Auroville Today No. 390 — January 2022)
- Signatory to the Working Committee response of 2 April 2026 containing unsubstantiated allegations against the Youth Centre
(WC Response 2 April 2026)
Arun Selvam
Working Committee Member — Foundation-Appointed
- Signatory to the Working Committee response of 2 April 2026 containing unsubstantiated allegations against the Youth Centre
(WC Response 2 April 2026)
- Named in the eviction notice of 9 December 2025 as offering accommodation and work to YC members in exchange for compliance — coercion presented as support
(Eviction Notice — Source 51)
Joseba Martinez
Working Committee Member — Foundation-Appointed
- Signatory to the Working Committee response of 2 April 2026 containing unsubstantiated allegations against the Youth Centre
(WC Response 2 April 2026)
Selvaraj Damotharan
Working Committee Member — Foundation-Appointed
- Signatory to the Working Committee response of 2 April 2026 containing unsubstantiated allegations against the Youth Centre
(WC Response 2 April 2026)
Parthasarathy Krishnan
Working Committee Member — Foundation-Appointed
- Signatory to the Working Committee response of 2 April 2026 containing unsubstantiated allegations against the Youth Centre
(WC Response 2 April 2026)
Srimoyi Rosegger
Working Committee Member — elected by Residents’ Assembly 2021
- Confirmed Working Committee member during the period of the December 2021 Youth Centre destruction. On 8 December 2021, the day before over 100 unidentified men arrived with bulldozers, the Residents’ Assembly requested an emergency meeting to pause the Crown Road development. The request was refused by four members. Srimoyi Rosegger was one of the four who voted against
(Auroville Foundation Annual Report 2020–21; News & Notes 862; Community Timeline — Source 17)
Note on legitimacy: The Foundation-appointed Working Committee listed above is subject to active legal dispute. Three of its members were removed by a formal Residents’ Assembly resolution in 2022, upheld by the Madras High Court. Remaining members were never elected by the community and the body has been past its term since 2024. A legitimately elected Working Committee exists separately, selected by the Residents’ Assembly through the proper process.
The FAMC froze the Youth Centre’s budget in April 2023, suspended maintenance payments for YC members in May 2023, dissolved the Unity Fund account making fundraising impossible, declared crowd-funding illegal, and jointly signed the eviction notice of 9 December 2025.
Chandresh Patel
FAMC Member — co-founder of Auroville Consulting alongside Toine van Megen, who is simultaneously named in this record in the Behind the Scenes category — prior background as co-founder of VeriFlow Technologies and CAESIUM in Silicon Valley
- Appointed to the reconstituted Funds and Assets Management Committee during the post-2021 institutional restructuring period, placing him inside Auroville’s central administrative apparatus at the height of the governance conflict
(Auroville Wiki, sourced from News & Notes — official Auroville Foundation publication)
- The FAMC under his membership froze the Youth Centre’s budget in April 2023, suspended maintenance payments for YC members in May 2023, dissolved the Unity Fund account making fundraising impossible, and jointly signed the eviction notice of 9 December 2025
(Official FAMC correspondence 2023–2025)
- In May 2025, FAMC instructed Youth Link to immediately cease all activities at the Youth Centre — removing the Youth Centre’s last collaborative partner and isolating it further in the final months before the eviction was enforced
(Youth Link correspondence — May 2026)
- Co-founded Auroville Consulting in 2010 with Toine van Megen, who is simultaneously named in this record. The two individuals are named independently in different categories. Readers may draw their own conclusions from this connection
(Auroville Today No. 339 — October 2017)
Sathyamoorty Patchaiappan (Kalia)
FAMC Member — appointed to the reconstituted FAMC June 2022
- Named as a member of the reconstituted Funds and Assets Management Committee in a June 2022 Auroville governance notice — placing him inside the post-2021 implementation-era governance structure during the period of Crown Road implementation acceleration and financial pressure on the Youth Centre
(Auroville Wiki, sourced from Auroville governance notice — June 2022)
- Confirmed as current FAMC member in the Foundation working groups’ public response to the International Advisory Council statement of 18 May 2026
(Foundation working groups public statement — May 2026)
Margarita
FAMC Member — also named in the eviction notice of 9 December 2025
- Believed to have served on the FAMC during the period of documented financial harm to the Youth Centre
(Community records)
- Named in the eviction notice of 9 December 2025 as offering accommodation and work to YC members in exchange for compliance — coercion presented as support
(Eviction Notice — Source 51)
Sathya Narayan
FAMC Member
- Believed to have served on the FAMC during the period of documented financial harm to the Youth Centre
(Community records)
Balaji Srinivasan
FAMC Member
- Believed to have served on the FAMC during the period of documented financial harm to the Youth Centre
(Community records)
Geeta Hemant
FAMC Member
- Believed to have served on the FAMC during the period of documented financial harm to the Youth Centre
(Community records)
Torkil Dantzer
FAMC Member
- Believed to have served on the FAMC during the period of documented financial harm to the Youth Centre
(Community records)
The eviction notice of 9 December 2025 falsely claimed that resident Youth Centre members were not registered in the Register of Residents. The ATSC is the body responsible for residency status determinations and removals.
ATSC — Admissions & Terminations Scrutinising Committee
Joel van Lierde
ATSC Member — also ATDC member, ATR member, witnessed on the ground. Full entry under Category 7
- Membership confirmed in his own formal correspondence of 11 May 2026, signing as “Joel, for ATR & ATSC teams, ATR Members: Joel & William.” See full entry under Category 7, Physical Clearings
(Joel van Lierde formal correspondence — 11 May 2026)
Muriel Ghion
ATSC Member — also ATDC member
- Believed to have served on the ATSC during the relevant period
(Foundation working groups public statement — May 2026; community records)
Ravindra
ATSC Member
- Believed to have served on the ATSC during the relevant period
(Community records)
ATR — Admissions & Terminations Registry
Joel van Lierde
ATR Member — Admissions & Terminations Registry — also listed under ATDC (Category 3) and Physical Clearings (Category 7)
- Membership confirmed in his own formal correspondence of 11 May 2026, signing as “Joel, for ATR & ATSC teams, ATR Members: Joel & William.” See full entry under Category 7, Physical Clearings
(Joel van Lierde formal correspondence — 11 May 2026)
William Anthony Raj
ATR Member — Admissions & Terminations Registry
- Believed to have served on the ATSC during the relevant period
(Foundation working groups public statement — May 2026; community records)
Giacomo
Auroville Safety & Emergency Services (AVSES)
- Identified as a member of Auroville Safety & Emergency Services in the Foundation working groups’ public response to the International Advisory Council statement of 18 May 2026
(Foundation working groups public statement — May 2026)
Joel van Lierde
Witnessed on the ground — also listed under ATDC, ATSC and ATR
- Documented as present during clearing operations
(Community photographic and video record)
- A First Information Report was filed with Pondicherry police naming Joel van Lierde in connection with events at the Auroville Youth Centre on 20 March 2026. Community witnesses present on that date report that serious physical violence occurred during clearing and dismantling operations
(Police record — March 2026; community witness testimony)
- A counter-FIR was subsequently filed by Joel van Lierde naming the original complainants as defendants. Anticipatory bail was granted to those original complainants. Further legal proceedings are ongoing
(Court record — March 2026)
- When sent the formal accountability record correction invitation, responded with a cease and desist demand without addressing any substance of the entries against him. No factual inaccuracies were disputed
(ACYP formal correspondence — 11 May 2026)
- Confirmed his own membership of both ATR and ATSC in the same correspondence, signing as “Joel, for ATR & ATSC teams, ATR Members: Joel & William” — also confirming William Anthony Raj’s ATR membership
(Joel van Lierde formal correspondence — 11 May 2026)
- Five former members of the Auroville International Advisory Council specifically named the 20 March 2026 Youth Centre dismantling in a formal public statement dated 18 May 2026, describing it as involving “unprovoked physical attacks on some of its inhabitants”
(Statement by five former IAC members — 18 May 2026)
Antim Singhi
Witnessed on the ground during clearing operations — also listed under ATSC, Category 6
- Documented as present during clearing and dismantling operations at the Youth Centre
(Community photographic and video record)
- A First Information Report was filed with Pondicherry police naming Antim in connection with events at the Auroville Youth Centre on 20 March 2026. Community witnesses present on that date report that serious physical violence occurred during these operations
(Police record — March 2026; community witness testimony)
- Also a member of the ATSC — the body with authority to remove individuals from Auroville — while simultaneously being documented as present during the physical clearing of the Youth Centre. See entry under ATSC, Category 6
(Community records)
Sindhuja Jagadeesh
Witnessed on the ground — also listed under ATDC, Category 3 with full documentation
- Documented as present during clearing operations
(Community photographic and video record)
Josephine Joyner
Executive, Auroville Safety & Emergency Services (AVSES) — witnessed on the ground during clearing operations
- Documented as present during clearing operations at the Youth Centre
(Community photographic and video record)
- Named as one of the executives of the reorganised Auroville Safety & Emergency Services (AVSES) in 2024 — the official body responsible for safety coordination in Auroville. Her simultaneous presence during the physical clearing of the Youth Centre and her executive role in Auroville’s safety services is noted as part of this record
(Auroville Foundation official records — 2024)
Jacques
Witnessed on the ground during clearing operations
- Documented as present during clearing operations
(Community photographic and video record)
Michael Georg Anton Bonke
German diamond entrepreneur and corporate director — not an Auroville resident. Director, Aditi Diamonds Private Limited — Director, Varuna Energy & Water Private Limited — Director, Goldinglass India Private Limited — Director, Aditi Diamonds Exports Private Limited. All companies registered at the same Kennedy Nagar, Pondicherry address cluster.
- Confirmed director of Varuna Energy & Water Private Limited, appointed 11 March 2009. Varuna’s registered address is Aditi Diamonds Compound, Kennedy Nagar, Pondicherry — the same compound as Bonke’s other companies
(Ministry of Corporate Affairs public registry — DIN 2415831)
- Confirmed director of Aditi Diamonds Private Limited since 27 December 1993, co-directed with the Jhunjhunwala family
(Ministry of Corporate Affairs public registry)
- The Varuna Energy & Water network is directly connected to Auroville’s water infrastructure planning and the Crown Road development area
(Community sources)
- Portions of the Crown Road alignment and the adjacent Bliss Forest/Youth Centre area were described in internal Auroville planning and conflict documents as passing through “private land of Michael Bonke”
(News & Notes 973 — official Auroville Foundation publication, May 2023)
Toine van Megen
Co-founder and mentor, Auroville Consulting — co-founded alongside Chandresh, who is simultaneously named in this record as a FAMC member — founding member, Auroville Renewable Energy Group — former CEO, Suzlon Energy Limited, one of the world’s five largest wind turbine manufacturers
- Publicly documented as involved in Auroville township infrastructure development and energy planning in his own Auroville Consulting profile as recently as May 2025 — covering the entire period of documented harm to the Youth Centre
(Auroville Consulting public profile — May 2025)
- On 6 January 2012, presented to the Auroville community alongside Michael Georg Anton Bonke — director of Varuna Energy & Water Private Limited — on Auroville’s future energy and drinking water needs, establishing a documented shared interest in Auroville’s long-term water resource planning
(Auroville Today No. 271 — February 2012)
- Presented publicly on the Crown Road development in December 2021 — during the period of the physical destruction of the Youth Centre — as a senior Auroville resident
(YouTube — Toine van Megen public presentation on Crown Road — December 2021)
- Served on the Auroville Town Development Council Advisory Group from September 2011 to November 2013. This advisory group ceased functioning prior to the events documented in this record and is not connected to the Youth Centre eviction. Toine van Megen disputed the original entry connecting this role to the eviction and that specific factual error has been corrected accordingly
(Auroville Foundation Standing Order 6/2011; Auroville Radio — July 2013)
- When asked in writing to confirm whether he has held any advisory, consulting, or professional role in relation to Auroville’s planning, infrastructure, or energy development — including any connection with Varuna Energy & Water Private Limited — from 2021 to the present, Toine van Megen declined to answer and declared no further communication. His refusal to confirm or deny is noted and documented
(ACYP formal correspondence — 12 May 2026)
- There is no public evidence directly linking Toine van Megen to the demolition decisions or operations at the Youth Centre
Tobias Stephanus Neuman
Legal name: Neuman Tobias Stephanus (DIN 01880092) — ATDC Member — Director, Varuna Energy & Water Private Limited — Director, Basic Water Needs (India) Private Limited — former CEO of Dutch public water utility — executive, Auroville Water Service
- Confirmed director of both Varuna Energy & Water Private Limited and Basic Water Needs (India) Private Limited under legal name Neuman Tobias Stephanus — DIN 01880092
(Ministry of Corporate Affairs public registry)
- Former CEO-level executive in Dutch public water utilities. His own writing describes working in “water companies, ending up in boardrooms and as a Chief Executive Officer.” Described in Auroville Today as “former director of a public water company supplying water to a province of the Netherlands”
(Auroville Today No. 311–312 — July 2015; Lands for Auroville Unified — autobiographical account by Tobias Stephanus Neuman)
- Deep professional expertise in aquifer depletion, recharge systems, watershed management, borewell regulation, wastewater systems, and bioregional hydrology — making him uniquely positioned in relation to Auroville’s documented groundwater crisis and the aquifer system beneath the Youth Centre site
(Auroville Today No. 311–312 — July 2015)
- Became executive of the Auroville Water Service — placing him at the centre of Auroville’s water infrastructure governance during the eviction period
(Auroville Today No. 311–312 — July 2015)
- Named in Auroville Foundation report as joining ATDC during the 2020–2021 restructuring period within discussions involving infrastructure corridors, water management systems, and unified base maps — connecting him directly to the implementation structures that preceded and accompanied the Youth Centre eviction
(Auroville Foundation Annual Report 2020–2021)
- The combination of his Dutch water utility CEO background, his directorship of two water-related companies, his role on ATDC, and his documented expertise in aquifer systems places him at the intersection of every element relevant to water resource planning in the Youth Centre site area. Also listed under ATDC, Category 3
(Ministry of Corporate Affairs public registry; Auroville Today No. 311–312 — July 2015; Auroville Foundation Annual Report 2020–2021)
Ulrich Blass
Varuna Energy & Water Private Limited
- Associated with Varuna Energy & Water Private Limited — the same company of which Michael Georg Anton Bonke is a confirmed director and Tobias Stephanus Neuman is a confirmed director per Ministry of Corporate Affairs public registry. All three individuals are named in this record and connected through Varuna’s water infrastructure operations in Auroville
(Community sources; Ministry of Corporate Affairs public registry)
Manoj Pavithran
Auronet Manager
- Manager of Auroville’s internal community communication platform during the period in which the eviction notice ordered a social media blackout and News & Notes was instructed not to cover the Youth Centre
(Community sources)
- Resident of Bliss Forest — the area immediately adjacent to the Auroville Youth Centre and its bore well. The person who administered the communications block lives next to the place being destroyed. That proximity — physical, institutional, and communicative — is part of this record.
(Community sources)
- On 6 May 2026, return to sender notifications were received when correspondence to @auroville.org.in addresses was sent with Residents’ Assembly domain addresses (@auroville.community and @auroville.services) in the CC field. Subsequent testing confirmed this was caused by @auroville.org.in server settings that filter and block emails sent simultaneously to RA-initiated domains. This configuration means the Foundation Office email server systematically rejects any correspondence that also includes RA community addresses — effectively blocking communication between the Foundation and the legitimate community governance infrastructure
(Return to sender records — 6 May 2026; confirmed by Auroville Global Fellowship — 8 May 2026)
- All correspondence sent to @auroville.org.in addresses without RA domain addresses in the CC was delivered successfully and is on the formal record
(Delivery confirmation — 8 May 2026)
Otto
Head of Auroville Financial Service — background in banking, Vienna, prior to Auroville
- Head of Auroville’s Financial Service during the period of documented financial harm to the Youth Centre, including the freezing of accounts and dissolution of the Unity Fund
(Community sources)
- No response received to formal correspondence sent at the beginning of this campaign requesting reversal of the eviction order
(ACYP correspondence record — March 2026)
- Note: No surname appears in any publicly indexed Auroville records. He is known within Auroville solely by his first name. Internal administrative archives may hold further details
(Community sources)
Lakshay Dharan
ATDC Member 2021–2023 (resigned during term) — brand strategist and narrative communications specialist — founder of THOTIN brand consultancy, New Delhi
- Appointed to the ATDC by the Foundation Office on 15 June 2021 with a term until June 2023 — covering the period of the December 2021 Youth Centre destruction. Subsequently resigned from ATDC along with three other members during the governance conflict period
(Auroville Wiki, sourced from News & Notes 912 — official Auroville Foundation publication)
- Founder of THOTIN brand consultancy in New Delhi and brand strategist with over 20 years of experience — bringing professional narrative and communications expertise to his ATDC role during the period when the administration was actively managing public perception of the Crown Road and Youth Centre eviction
(LinkedIn public profile)
- Became an Auroville resident in February 2018. His resignation from ATDC during the eviction period is noted
(Auroville Today No. 436 — November 2025)
A Note on This Document
Every named individual was formally contacted and given the opportunity to correct any inaccuracies before this record was finalised. The record stands as published. The individuals named in this record are identified through official correspondence, public registries, government documents, or community records. Source references appear beneath each entry.
On 18 May 2026, five former members of the Auroville International Advisory Council — Dena Merriam, Gabi Gilessen, Michel Danino, Julian Lines, and Doudou Diène — published a formal public statement condemning violence in Auroville, specifically naming the 20 March 2026 Youth Centre dismantling as involving unprovoked physical attacks on inhabitants. The statement also confirmed that more than 30 residents are currently without valid visas, with the Foundation administration withholding recommendations, and called for a halt to all land exchanges.
Those who directed, authorised, enabled, or carried out institutional violence against the Auroville Youth Centre acted in official capacities. They are not private individuals requiring protection. Transparency and justice require that their decisions be attached to their names permanently.
Protecting those who acted with impunity is not consistent with the values and aims of Auroville. Nothing will change if this is not properly documented.
The full documented record of administrative corruption at the Auroville Foundation is published at aurovillefoundationrecord.netlify.app
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