Rules and Regulations for Chapter of ISAMPE

9.1       General:

9.1.1   The members of the Society not less than 10 in number of any particular area, city/town or part of a city/town may send a request in writing to the Secretary of the society for formation of a Chapter. The Executive Board (EB) of the Society will be the authority to take a decision as to whether any chapter of members need be established and if so, the name of Chapter and its area of jurisdiction will also be decided by the EB of the Society

NOTE:2:         In these rules, the term “EB” will mean the Executive Board of ISAMPE as per the Articles of Association of the Society.
 

9.1.2   Every member of the Society shall forthwith, on his election to the membership of the Society, become a member of the Chapter within the jurisdiction of which his registered address is situated.  In case, his address is outside the jurisdiction of the existing Chapters, he will be treated as the member of the Bangalore Chapter until a Chapter covering the area of the address is formed and the member shall then be a Member of such a new Chapter.

9.1.3   The EB of the Society, at all times, shall have full power in its discretion, to suspend, supercede and dissolve any chapter.

9.1.4

(i) Decisions of the EB regarding formation of any Chapter may be taken by simple majority of the members of the EB.   However, decision regarding supercession or dissolution of any Chapter or suspensions or supercession of Executive Committee of any Chapter of the Society may be taken by 2/3rd majority of the Members of the strength of the EB. The Chairman of the relevant Committee of the EB, in which such decisions are to be made, shall have the power of casting vote in case of ties in vote for and against any proposal relating to the Chapter formation etc.

9.1.5   These new chapter Rules will become applicable to existing Chapters as on xxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxxx with effect from the date notified.

9.2.1   A Chapter of the Society  may be formed by the EB of the ISAMPE in any area, city or part of a city in which a minimum of 10 members having their registered addresses as recorded in the members register of the Society have expressed in writing their willingness and desire to form and operate a Chapter.

9.2.2   The Chapter Formation Meeting: The first meeting of the members of a new Chapter authorized by the EB of the ISAMPE to be formed in any town or place fixed by EB shall be called “The Chapter Formation Meeting” and it shall be held in accordance with the provisions in this part of the Rules.
  

9.2.3  When the EB of the ISAMPE has made a decision that a new Chapter shall be formed, it will also decide (i) the name of the new Chapter, (ii) the town or city in which the Chapter’s office shall be situated and (iii) the jurisdiction or area of operations of the Chapter. The EB will also nominate a senior member of the Chapter area as the first Chairman of the Chapter.   Further, the EB will also nominate from amongst the members of the area and in consultation with the first Chairman of the Chapter, the Chapter Secretary, the Chapter Treasurer and other members, who will form the first Executive Committee of the New Chapter. Such nominated first Chairman of the new Chapter will be authorized in writing by the Secretary of the Society to call the Chapter Formation Meeting at a suitable date, time and place, with notice of 14 clear days to all members of the Society whose address falls within the jurisdiction of the Chapter (and who will thus become the members of the new Chapter). For this purpose, the Chairman of the new Chapter shall be supplied by the Secretary of the Society with a list of names and addresses of the members of the area to be covered by the new Chapter.

9.2.4 The first Chairman shall call the Chapter formation meeting and shall preside over the deliberations.  The meeting shall be attended by at least four members excluding the first Chairman.  The Chairman shall send a certified copy of the Minutes of that meeting to the Secretary of the Society within 14 days from the date of such meeting.

9.2.5 At the Chapter Formation Meeting the main business to be transacted shall be as follows:

The “Chapter Formation Meeting will be the first General Meeting of the members of the Chapter and the business to be conducted at the meeting will be:

1. To pass a resolution regarding formation of the Chapter in accordance with the Chapter Rules and the decision of the EB of ISAMPE to form the Chapter,
2. To pass a formal resolution approving the appointment of the office-bearers viz., the Chairman, Co-Chairman, the Secretary, the Joint-Secretary, the Treasurer and members of the first Executive Committee as nominated by the EB of the ISAMPE, and
3. General discussion of the programme of activities to be pursued by the Chapter up to the end of the then current financial year.

9.3  Operation and Management of the Chapter

9.3.1 The Secretary of the EB of the Society shall forward to the Secretary of each Chapter, once in every half-year, a statement of members showing the addition, deletion and transfer of the members of the Chapter concerned, within the month following the half-year.

9.3.2 Each Chapter shall operate and shall conduct its affairs within the overall framework of the Rules and Regulations of the Society.  It shall function to further the objectives of the Society as listed in the Rules and Regulations of the Society and all its activities shall be oriented towards achieving these objectives.

9.3.4 The operation management of the affairs of each Chapter shall be carried out through an Executive Committee formed and operating as per the Rules given here.

9.3.5   Quorum :

1. The quorum for any General Body Meeting of the Chapter shall be 10% of the total members of the Chapter or 5 members whichever is more present all through the proceedings of the meeting.
2. If, at any properly convened general body meeting, there is no quorum, the matters not yet disposed of shall be dealt with at an adjourned meeting thereof to be held on the same day after half an hour at the same place to transact the business of agenda and at such adjourned meeting, not less than two members present, shall form the quorum.
3. In case of difficulties in following the above laid down procedures, the Chapter Secretary may make suitable arrangements for holding the meeting including issue of fresh notice for such adjourned meeting on a suitable date, time and place.

9.3.6   Voting Right :

1. Only members of the Chapter as per first list of such members forwarded to the Chairman-cum-Convener of the “Chapter Formation Meeting” by the Secretary of the Society and Members in good-standing on the roll of the Chapter, including additions and excluding deletions intimated by the Society Headquarters to the Secretary of the Chapter from time to time shall be eligible to vote at any General body meeting of the Chapter.

1. The list of members furnished by the Secretary ISAMPE 21 days in advance of the AGM of the Chapter shall be the final members list for attending and voting at the AGM.

9.4 Annual General Meeting:

1. The Annual General Meeting of every Chapter shall be held in the months of April - May every year irrespective of the date on which the Chapter was formed. The Executive Committee of the chapter shall have power to obtain extension by a maximum of 3 months for holding the AGM of the chapter.
2. Notice of 21 clear days should be given by the Chapter Secretary calling the AGM of the Chapter – copies of all notices calling the AGM or Extraordinary General Meeting (see Sec. 9.5) of the Chapter shall be sent simultaneously to the Secretary of the Society along with copies of all annexures thereto, including explanatory statements annexed to the notice calling an Extra-ordinary General Meeting.
3. The Annual Report of the Executive Committee of the Chapter and the Income and Expenditure Account for the preceding financial year ending on 31st March and Balance Sheet as on that date shall be forwarded by the Secretary of the Chapter to the Members eligible to be present and to vote at the Annual General Meeting, along with the notice calling the Annual General Meeting.
4. All members of the Executive Committee, including the office-bearers, viz., Chairman, Co-Chairman, Secretary, Jt. Secretary, Treasurer and                 Jt. Treasurer shall hold office for a term of two years and no office bearer shall hold continuous office for more than two terms.

9.5 Extra-Ordinary General Meeting :

1. There may arise special occasions when the Executive Committee of the Chapter may like to have the advice and opinion of the members of the Chapter on some important matters. There may also be some occasions when a sufficiently large number of members of the Chapter may feel the urgency for change in the programme or policies followed by the Executive Committee of the Chapter. For discussion of such important matters, Extra-ordinary General Meetings of the chapter members may be held in between two Annual General Meetings of the Chapter.

1. All General meetings of the members of a Chapter, other than the Annual General Meeting shall be called Extra-ordinary General Meetings. Such meetings may be called to decide matters specified in the notice of the Secretary of the Chapter calling for the same with 21 clear days notice. A requisition to call extra-ordinary general meeting may be sent to the Secretary of the Chapter duly signed by not less than ten members entitled to vote at General Meeting, specifying the matters to be discussed and the grounds or need to call such a meeting. The decision of the Executive Committee not to accept or accede to the requisition can be appealed against by appeal to the Society for final decision.

9.6 Executive Committee:

The election of office bearers and members to the Executive Committee shall conform to Rule 9.4.4.

9.6.2 The strength or the number of members of the Executive Committee of the Chapter may be varied within the aforesaid limits only.

9.6.3 The Executive Committee of each Chapter shall meet regularly and periodically to plan the programme of events etc. and there shall be at least three such meetings in every calendar year more or less evenly spaced during the year.

9.6.4 Any member of the Executive Committee who fails to attend three consecutive meetings without obtaining leave of absence shall cease to be a member of the Executive Committee.

9.7 Officer Bearers and Members of Chapter Executive Committee:

Chairman:

1. The Chairman of the Chapter shall be the Chief Executive Authority for management of the affairs of the Chapter and all the office bearers of the Chapter shall function under his general guidance and directions.
2. All differences, if any, regarding management of the Chapter that are not solved by the Executive committee, shall be referred by the aggrieved members to the Secretary of the Chapter in the first instance for a discussion/decision and an appeal against the decision of the Chapter can be made to the Chairman of the Chapter with adequate grounds.
3. The Chairman of the Chapter, or in his absence the Co-Chairman,  shall preside over all general body meetings of the Chapter and all meetings of the Executive Committee of the Chapter.

In the absence of the Chairman, the Co-Chairman shall have the powers to perform the duties of the Chairman.

9.7.3   Secretary:

1. The Secretary of the Chapter or in his absence the Chairman of the chapter shall remain the custodian of the properties and assets of the Chapter, on behalf of the Society, till he hands over charge to his successor or to the Chairman of the Chapter.
2. He shall also be responsible for management of the day-to-day affairs of the Chapter, including all activities such as technical meetings, seminars, conventions and financial affairs of the Chapter.
3. The Secretary of the chapter shall be competent to verify the cash and bank balances at his initiative as part of this responsibility of being custodian of the properties and assets of the Chapter.
4. All communication to Headquarters and vice-versa shall be through Secretary of the Chapter only.

9.7.4   Jt. Secretary:

The Jt. Secretary of the Chapter shall assist the Secretary in such a manner as may be required.

9.7.5   Treasurer:

1. The Treasurer of the Chapter shall be responsible for keeping proper books of accounts, vouchers and receipt books and compilation of the annual income and expenditure accounts and Balance sheet of the Chapter to be circulated to members before the Annual General Meeting.  The Chapter should get accounts audited by a Charted Accountant and submit the audited statement of account for the year concerned to the Headquarters within two months after completion of financial year.
2. He will be responsible for operation of the accounts of the Chapter in the banks and cash on hand, till he hands over charge to his successors or to the Secretary of the Chapter.
3. He can make payments for routine expense under his own authority up to an amount on each occasion as decided by the EC. Any payment for higher amounts can be made only after counter-signature by the Secretary of the Chapter and in the absence of the Secretary, after counter-signature by the Chairman of the Chapter.

Explanation: Routine payments will be decided by the Executive Committee of the Chapter from time to time.

1. Treasurer shall furnish all explanation regarding Chapter account to the auditor.

9.8 Sub-Committees of the EC

The Executive Committee can form sub-committees from time to time for organizing various activities and to co-opt to any sub-committee up to 4 members of the Chapter who are not members of the Executive Committee. Defaulting members shall not be eligible for such co-option to sub-committees of the chapter.  Such sub-committees shall exist and the co-opted members shall hold the office at the pleasure of the EC.

9.9 Duties and Functions of the Executive Committee of Chapter

9.9.1   Executive Committee of every Chapter of the Society shall function subject to the general directions and guidance of the EB of the Society from time to time.

9.9.2   The EC of the Chapter may perform any or all of the following functions:

(i) Organising or arranging classes, refresher courses, lectures, technical meetings, debates, seminars, discourses, plant visits and excursions, study circle meetings, research group, film shows, exhibitions and other means of attainments, having regard to the needs of the members of the Society within their jurisdiction.

Note:   (a) The Executive Committee of each Chapter is expected to organize a few technical meetings in a calendar year. By 31st December every year, the Chapter Secretary shall send to Head Quarters details of major Seminars/Conferences which the chapter intends to organize in the next financial year, for bringing out the calendar of events.

            (b) Once a chapter of the Society is formed by the EB, the Executive Committee of the Chapter  shall maintain a healthy organization and steady growth in the activities allotted to it so as to promote the well being of the Society.

            (c) Meeting and seminars/symposia organized by the Chapter shall be open to all members of the EB and be subject to same conditions regarding delegate fee etc. as applicable to the members of the Chapter concerned.

(ii) Doing all other incidental, supplementary and consequential matter.

(iii) The Executive Committee of the Chapter shall help the EB of the Society in increasing the membership and endeavour to collect arrears from defaulting members on receipt of list of defaulters from the Headquarters.

(iv) In organizing all India or International convention, seminars, symposia, etc., the Executive Committee of a Chapter shall function in consultation with the EB of the Society. It shall invariably have a member from EB of the Society in the advisory/organising committees.

(v) Only with the prior approval of the EB of the Society, the Executive Committee of a Chapter can take any action to publish text books, technical papers, institute awards or any other matter either in the name of the Chapter or in the name of the Society.

9.10 Finance and Accounts

9.10.1 The Financial Year of all Chapters of the Society shall uniformly be the financial year, viz April to March.

9.10.2 All amounts due to the Society collected by any chapter on account of subscription, donation etc. shall be remitted to the Society Headquarters quarterly.    However, Chapter is authorised to collect the donations/grants offered to the Chapter.

9.10.3 By 31st January every year, the Chapter Treasurer shall submit to the  Society Headquarters, the budget for consideration and sanction by the EB. The Chapters will be given following grant, which will be credited by April of the Year.  The grant is arrived as follows:

50% of the annual subscription of the members attached to the Chapter and 50% of the interest accrued from the life members subscription of the life members attached to the Chapter.

In the event of the Chapter seeking special grants from EB of the Society it shall be sent with sufficient justification for the grants.

9.10.4 The Executive Committee of a Chapter shall not have power to raise loans for its expenses whether of a Capital or Revenue nature, without the prior approval of the EB.

9.10.5 In respect of seminars, refresher courses, conferences, souvenirs etc. organized by the Chapter separate income and expenditure account shall be prepared by the Treasurer for each such item. 1/3 of the net surplus shall be remitted to the Head Office within a reasonable time but not exceeding three months from the closing date of the seminar. 2/3 of the net surplus will be retained by the Chapter.

Provided that in the exceptional cases where more funds are required to be at the Chapter, the matter of division of funds shall be decided by EB of the Society with noting of the due justification for the new allocation.

9.10.6 With regard to seminars and conferences, each Chapter is expected to raise adequate funds by way of donation, delegate fees, advertisements in the Souvenir etc. to meet the budgeted expenses for each seminar, conference, etc.   However, EB may grant seed money and / or token grant on a case to case basis.

9.10.7 Only with the prior approval of the EB of the Society, the Executive Committee of any Chapter may acquire or dispose assets in the form of immovable property.  However, permission of the EB of the Society will not be required by the Chapter to accept gifts of books and periodicals or to purchase assets as per annual budget of the Chapter as approved by the EB of the Society.

9.10.8 The Chapter Treasurer shall maintain a Register of Assets of the Chapter in the form required by the Auditors of the Chapter with adequate details of nature of assets, quantity, value, location etc. and it will be the duty of the Chapter Secretary to see that the Register of Assets is maintained properly and to verify the physical existence of all Chapter assets, at least once in the year, in the last week of January. Discrepancies in stock noticed should be reconciled and properly adjusted in the Register of Assets. Also losses in sale of assets or profits on sale of assets should be accounted for properly.

9.10.9 The Treasurer of every Chapter shall forward to the Society Headquarters   annually the income and expenditure account and Balance Sheet as on 31st March, duly audited by a qualified Chartered Accountant along with other documents (such as certificates for Cash & Bank Balance, Fixed Assets and investments of the Chapter, certificate for provision to be made.

9.10.10  Chapter Bank Account : Chapter shall open a Bank Account with the prior approval of the EC of the Chapter.  The account will be operated as per the directives of the EC of the Chapter.

9.11    Filling up of casual vacancies and suspension, supercession or dissolution of Chapters by the EB of the society

9.11.1 Casual Vacancies :

1. Casual vacancies in the executive committee, upto 1/3 of the strength of such committee, caused by death, resignation, expulsion from membership etc. may be filled up by the Executive Committee by co-option of members of the Chapter. In calculation of this 1/3, the fraction, if any, shall be rounded off to the nearest integral number, so as not to exceed the total strength fixed by the AGM, including the number of continuing members of the Executive Committee.
2. Executive Committee Members whose names are included in defaulter’s list sent by the Society Headquarter shall be deemed to have automatically vacated their seats on the Executive committee, in case they do not clear up all arrears within one month of the date of receipt of defaulter’s list by the Chapter Secretary and the resulting casual vacancy may be filled in the manner set out above.
3. Similarly casual vacancies in the Chapter office-bearers offices during the year, including that of Chairman, Secretary or Treasurer shall be filled by the Executive Committee from amongst its members, within a reasonable time, not exceeding one month from the date the vacancy arose.

9.11.2 Suspension of Executive Committee members
 
On receipt of a complaint in writing from any member, not less than ten in number or a report in writing from the Chairman of the Chapter that the continued presence of any member in the Executive Committee is prejudicial to harmony and/or promotion or stability growth of the Chapter organization, the EB of the Society after due consideration of facts may suspend him/her from such position or office for either a definite period or on indefinite period as it thinks fit.

Provided that no decision of the EB of the society for such suspension of membership from the Executive Committee of a Chapter shall be made unless the member concerned has been given a reasonable opportunity for making a representation in the matter.

9.11.3 Supercession of the Executive Committee of a Chapter by order of the EB of the Society

The EB of the Society after the due deliberation, shall order the supercession of the Executive Committee of any Chapter and its office-bearers and to appoint an Ad-hoc Committee of management for the Chapter including 3 fresh office-bearers for such duration as it deems necessary in the following circumstances namely :

1. When the AGM is not held, taking into account extension of time granted by the Society’s EB, or
2. When in spite of two warnings, proper accounts/budgets etc. prescribed in these bye-laws are not submitted to the Society consecutively for a period of two years, or
3. When the Chapter Executive Committee strength falls below three members and efforts for co-option of members to the Committee by the continuing members have failed, or
4. When the Chairman of the chapter makes a report in writing to the President of the Society that the management of the Chapter can no longer be carried on in compliance with these Rules.

Provided that the EB of the Society, in its discretion, may at any time, add to or delete names of members nominated by it to the Ad-hoc Committee of management including changes in office-bearers appointed by it.

Provided further that no decision of the EB of the Society for such supercession of the Execution Committee members of the Chapter Executive Committee can be taken unless the members of the Chapter. EC have been given a reasonable opportunity for making a representation in the matter.

9.11.4 Dissolution of the Executive Committee of a Chapter by order of the EB of the Society

In the event of failure, in opinion of the EB of the Society, of the Executive Committee of management also and in that event the EB of the ISAMPE shall appoint its nominee or officer to take possession of all properties and assets of the Chapter and keep custody of it or dispose of the same from time to time as per directions of the EB of the society.

Provided that a fresh Chapter may be formed once again by the EB of the ISAMPE with the same title and in the same town or city when in its opinion, favourable climate is present for formation of the Chapter for benefit of the members and the students of the Society.

ANNEXURE I

Guidelines for organizingConferences / Symposium by Chapters

1. The planning for symposia/seminars should start at least 4/6 months in advance. Full particulars such as scope, mode of presentation of papers, registration formalities etc. may be sent to the Head Office at least 3 months in advance so that due publicity of the event can be given to all members either through the ISAMPE News or through special circulars.

2. If the Chapter wishes to confine such meetings only to the Chapter members, the programme can be arranged at short notice. Intimation of such meetings may be communicated to the Society office.

3. If the programme is to be sponsored by other institutions/organizations, suitable consent letter from such institutions/organizations may be obtained, stating that due prominence will be given to ISAMPE, its Divisions and Chapters. As per existing policy no financial commitment will be made by the Society for whatever programmes are to be organized with outside organizations/institutions.

4. In case any financial involvement is necessary for any joint programme, it should be submitted to the EB in advance for approval.

5. All the programmes should be self-sustaining. In other words enough funds for the seminars/symposia should be raised by way of donation, advertisement, registration fee etc. to meet the expenses.

6. In case Chapters needing any seed money from the Head Office for organizing the programmes a formal request be sent to the Honorary Secretary / Treasurer along with the estimated income and expenditure.

7. It is advisable to maintain a separate A/c for the seminar purpose and avoid clubbing with the Chapters/divisions normal accounts. The chapter to decide the persons to operate the account.
           
8. Take adequate care to provide sufficient time to the authors for presenting their papers and discussions.

9. After the conference/symposium is over, the Chapter/division should acknowledge the help received from all the organizations. A write-up of the conference together with 5 copies of the souvenirs/symposia papers should be sent to the Head Office.

10. Information on availability of preprints or proceedings of the conference papers, their cost etc. may also be sent to the Head Office so that they could be publicized through ISAMPE Web page.

11. The Organising Committee of the programme should be responsible for closing of the account and submitting the same to the Head Office within six months from the date of the conference.

12. Recommendations arising out of any seminars/panel discussions be sent to Head Office first for EB’s approval. After EB’s approval they can be sent to the Government Agencies. EB’s approval will be communicated to the Chapters/Organisers within three months.

ANNEXURE II

Guidelines to be followed by Chapters while acquiring assets

(Immovable Properties)

1. There should be approval of the EB for a Chapter to acquire immovable properties.

2.  Before execution of the building project, a Building Committee shall be formed with the Chairman & Secretary of the Chapter as well as the Secretary & Treasurer of H.O. as Ex-Officio Members.

3.  There should not be any legal and/or environmental hustle. The documents of an immovable property are to be examined by a competent legal authority in the Chapter to ensure that the property offered is free from all encumbrances (i.e., searches are to be made at the appropriate Registrar Office / Municipality / Corporation / IT Department on the outstanding, if any).

4. The title of the property and all other documents shall be in the name of the Society.

5. The documents, as and when registered, shall be sent to H.O.

6. Property acquired for the Society cannot be mortgaged.

7. Funds collected shall either be kept at the H.O. or at the Chapter in the name of the “ISAMPE Chapter _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ _ A/c Building Fund”. To maintain bank account, procedures laid down in Rule 9.10.10 of the Chapter rules be followed.
 
8. In the event of funds remitted to HQ, the same will be released to the Chapter concerned, on requisition with due approval of EB.

9. All donors may be requested to send the money along with a covering letter stating that the contribution is for “CORPUS FUND”. This is as per legal advice.

10. No contract shall be signed with the contractors or Builders without open tender system. Final contractor/Architect shall be approval by the Building Committee.

11. Certified copies of all the documents, be sent to HQ from time to time.

12. Proper books of accounts shall be maintained at the Chapter and statement of accounts be forwarded to HQ twice in a year as on 30th September as well as 31st March.

13. The above formalities are required at HQ to reveal the facts at the time of filing the annual return with appropriate authorities.

14. In the premises, the Society Logo should be fixed in a prominent place.

15. Chapters shall be permitted to construct halls/Auditorium if so desire in memory of someone, provided the donors agree to contribute for such proposals.

16. Chapters are advised to own/acquire property in the name of ISAMPE. However, should it become absolutely essential to share such acquisition jointly with similar professional institutions, such a proposal will be considered.