Article 1 –
Name
The name of the organization shall be “Tourist Guides’
Federation of South India”, (referred to in this document
as “the Federation”).
Article 2 – Definition
The Federation shall be a non-profit making professional organization,
dedicated to the promotion and welfare of all the guides in the
Southern Region, to maintain a cordial relationship with India
Tourism, Govt. of India, Sate Tourism Ministry and Other Government
Agencies; to maintain a good relationship with IATO and the Travel
Agents and to give high standards of training to Guides and maintain
ethics within the profession. The official language used by the
Federation shall be English. Legal documents shall be drawn up
in the language of the state of the Secretariat. The Federation
shall not engage in political, religious or racial activities.
Article 3 – Aims
a) To establish contact with Tourist Guides and Guides’
Associations throughout South India, to reinforce their professional
ties and to promote and protect the interests of professional
tourist guides
b) To address grievances and to seek redressal
c) To conduct lectures, refresher courses and educational trips
within India and abroad
d) To promote new destinations in south India
e) To get proper escort fees for guides and reduce exploitation
of guides.
f) To represent professional Tourist Guides and their Associations
Nationally and Internationally
g) To work for the improvement of the quality and reputation of
the profession of Tourist Guides worldwide;
h) To hold the Convention of Tourist Guides and the Associations
at regular intervals
Article 4 - Membership
a) Individual Membership shall be open to all the Guides of the
southern Region (Tamilnadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Pondicherry and
Andhra Pradesh) who are approved and authorized by India Tourism,
Govt of India. The membership fee will be Rs. 500/- per annum
/ per person
b) Members are entitled to participate in all activities of the
Federation to benefit from the facilities of the Federation and
each member is entitled to have a single vote at the General body.
c) Each member shall agree to abide by the Constitution and
the resolutions taken by the bodies of the Federation, and to
pay the annual membership subscription due of Rs. 500/- on 1 April
every year. The members paying after 3 months (after 31st July)
from the due date should pay a fine of Rs. 300/- over and above
their subscription due.
d) Membership will be deemed to have lapsed should a member fail
to pay the membership dues within the conditions laid down by
the Executive Body. Membership may be withheld by a decision of
the Executive Body, ratified by the Arbitration Committee, should
a member, in their opinions, act contrary to standards and aims
of the Federation or in a manner damaging to the reputation of
the Federation. Membership may be terminated by a decision of
the General Body.
e) Affiliate Membership will be open to tourism-related organizations,
whether governmental, local authority or other officially-funded
or privately-funded bodies involved at city, regional, national
or international level with tourism-related activities. Affiliate
Membership will also be open to education establishments, whether
public or state controlled or private fee-paying institutions
involved with training in any aspect of the tourism industry.
Their suitability for Affiliate Membership will be approved by
the Executive Body. Affiliate Members will receive the free publication
of the Federation. They may attend the Biennial Conventions as
participants, paying the normal membership rate. Affiliate Members
may be present as observers at training organized by, or under
the auspices of the Federation, if they are actively involved
in an administrative or teaching capacity in schools for tourist
guide training, although they may not be tourist guides. The annual
Affiliate fee will be Rs. 350, payable on April each year.
Article 5 – Finances
Funds of the Federation will accrue from:
a) Membership fees for individual membership and affiliate fees
- to be paid annually as recommended by the Executive Body and
ratified by the General Body
b) Donations, bequests, subsidies from private or public organizations
and through advertisement in our web site, meetings, conventions,
Etc.,
c) A per capita payment, as agreed by the General Body, added
to the fee for attending the Federation’s Convention.
d) The funds shall be kept in a suitable account or accounts,
in a nationalized Bank as decided by the Executive Body
e) Treasurer shall provide regular reports to the Executive Body
at least once in 4 months and an audited Balance Sheet and an
income and expenditure Account to be presented at the Annual General
meeting.
Article 6 – Composition
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The Federation shall consist of:
a) The General Body
b) The Executive Body
c) The Finance Committee
d) The Arbitration Committee
Article 7 - General Body
The General Body shall compromise of the fully paid-up members.
It shall be convened by the President in consultation with the
Executive Body. An extraordinary meeting of the General Body may
be convened by the Executive Body, or on written demand required
by one third of the membership.
a) Methods of voting in the General Body
1. Only one vote per member may be cast, irrespective of the number
of Associations represented. The decisions of the General Body
will be carried by a simple majority vote, with the exception
of changes to the Constitution which will require a two-thirds
majority of those present and voting, and a quorum of 50% of the
members. Voting shall be by a show of hands, unless a secret ballot
is required by any member.
2. Proxies
No Delegate may hold more than one proxy, duly authorized in writing,
in the prescribed format of the federation.
b) Functions of the General Body
i) To receive the President’s and Secretary’s reports
ii) To approve the audited accounts of the Federation and receive
the Treasurer’s report on the finances of the Federation;
iii) To approve membership fees until the next General Body;
iv) To consider the report of the Executive Body on its activities
since the previous meeting
v) To elect the office bearers the Executive Body
vi) To decide on the location and approximate date of the next
Convention and Annual General Body Meeting
vii) To consider and approve proposals for action for the next
two years
viii) To ratify termination of membership as recommended by the
Executive Body
c) Quorum
One Third of the Members present or represented shall constitute
a quorum for any meeting of the General Body. When no quorum is
present, the President may postpone the meeting to a later hour
or date, when decisions may be taken by any number of Members
present or represented.
d) Rules of Procedure of Election for the Executive Body
1. Election for the Executive Body will be every two years
2. The tenure of the executive Body shall be 2 year period
3. Only the founder members could be nominated for any post in
the Executive Body, for the fist two terms that is till 2012.
4. Founder members are those who become members of the federation
after fulfilling the criteria as per Article 4 and paying their
subscription in full, on or before 31st July 2007.
5. The candidates should send their nomination 21 days in advance
to our secretarial office, along with the attested copy of the
valid Identity card issued by the “India Tourism”
Govt of India.
6. The nomination should be proposed by 3 voting Members and seconded
by another 3 voting members, with their valid attested copy of
the valid Identity card issued by the “India Tourism”
Govt of India.
7. In case of a withdrawal of the Nominations, it should be done
10 days prior to the Election Day.
8. The list of candidature will be communicated to all the members
7 days before the election
9. The election process is only by secret Ballot
10. In case of a Tie in the election for the executive body reelection
will be held for the Post /Posts, as decided by the returning
officer.
11. On the Election Day, the candidates will be given 10 minutes
each to address the Quorum, as an official campaigning and will
answer the questions raised by the members within the given time.
The Returning officer will be the presiding authority of this
session and his decision is final
12. The Executive Body will institute one returning Officer and
2 assistant returning officers, to conduct the Election, 30 days
before the election.
e) Voting Right in the Election for the Executive Body
The Tourist Guides with the valid Identity card issued by the
“India Tourism” Govt of India, who are fully paid
members of the Federation, are eligible to cast a single vote
for all the posts in the Executive Body.
Article 8 - The Executive Body
a) The Executive Body shall comprise a President, Vice President,
Secretary, 2 Joint Secretaries and Treasurer shall be directly
elected by the General Body to serve for a period of 2 years.
The elected Executive Body shall appoint committee Members (minimum
5). They members of the executive body shall be eligible for the
election for 2 consecutive terms (4 years) after which they may
contest for election only after an interval of 1 term (2 years).
b) Function and duties of the Executive Body
The Executive Body shall be responsible for the day-to-day running
of the organization and shall, within the competence allotted
to it, have the power to make decisions in order to further the
aims of the Federation under Article 3 above. The Executive Body
may also co-opt members to the Body if necessary, such members
having no voting rights in the meetings of the Body.
The Executive Body are empowered to make a recommendation at their
“mid-term” meeting between Conventions of any proposed
increase in members subscriptions (all categories) for the following
biennial period commencing 1st April and for all members to be
immediately informed.
Further duties inter alia, shall be:
i) To decide on applications for membership and to recommend termination
of membership where necessary;
ii) To present an annual budget;
iii) To meet at least once between Conventions of the General
Body;
iv) To appoint Area Representatives for the Federation;
v) To issue such publications as shall be appropriate on matters
of concern to Tourist Guides
c) Simple majority of the members of the Executive Body shall
constitute a quorum for any meetings of the Executive Body provided
that the President or the Secretary is present.
d) The Executive Body shall make its decisions by simple majority
vote, except as provided by Article 8(f)
e) No one shall hold more than one office at the same time. No
Federation officer shall be remunerated. Expenses, properly recorded,
incurred in the execution of duties of the office shall be reimbursed.
f) By unanimous vote of no confidence by other members, a member
may be required to step down from the Executive Body. The circumstances
of such no confidence vote must be clearly documented and may
only be for conduct that seriously damages the work and/or reputation
of TGFSI or for dereliction of duties as an Executive Body Member.
Failing which, matter shall be referred to the General Body’s
decision
Article 9 - Officers of the Executive Body (OFFICE BEARERS:
RIGHTS AND DUTIES)
THE PRESIDENT
The functions of the President shall be:
1) To Head the TGFSI and to preside over all meetings of the General
Body and Executive Body.
2) To implement the objectives of the Federation.
3) To deal with all disciplinary matters arising in the TGFSI
or in the Member Units as per rules on the subject. This would
be subject to ratification in the next Executive Body Meeting
of the Federation.
4) To ensure that the financial position is sound and no unauthorized
expenditure is incurred.
5) To ensure that various business meetings, as required under
the constitution have been duly held.
6) To be the final authority in the matter of appointment to posts
in the TGFSI Secretariat and Organizations. He may suspend, penalize
remove or dismiss from service any employee of the TGFSI secretariat.
THE VICE PRESIDENT
The Vice President shall perform the following functions:
1) In the absence of the President, the Vice President nominated
by the President shall preside over the meetings of the General
Body / Executive Council.
2) In the event of the prolonged absence of the President, a vice
president, will take over the duties and responsibilities of the
President during the period of absence.
THE Hon. SECRETARY
The functions of the Hon. Secretary are:
a) To plan, manage Secretariat affairs, organizational activities
and other general affairs
b) To serve as member Secretary to the General Body and keep a
record of all proceedings and events.
c) To sign all instruments or contracts on behalf of the TGFSI
/ General Body, Executive Body, Secretariat.
d) To be sued or to defend on behalf of the Federation
e) To be competent to take emergency measures in matters, which
are not adequately covered by the provisions of the Constitution,
Rules & Regulation: such measures shall be subject to latter
consent of the Executive Body and subsequent approval of the General
Body.
f) Duties of the Secretary shall include taking minutes of all
meetings of the Executive Body and of the General Body.
g) To issue notice to all the members at least 21 days before
the Annual General Body Meeting
h) To convene the General Body and the Executive Body meeting.
I) To inform all the members at least 30 days before any proposed
amendments of constitution, which will come for discussion and
amendment in the General Body
THE TREASURER
The Treasurer shall perform following functions:
a) Shall have charge of the funds of the Federation and shall
secure the deposit of the funds in the name of the Federation.
b) Shall present at the Annual General meeting of the General
Body duly audited copies accounts and Balance Sheet for the previous
financial year together with a General report surveying the financial
position of the Federation.
c) Shall ensure the payment of all bills by Cheque as far as
possible upon certification of the amount by the President / Secretary.
d) The Treasurer and the finance Committee shall be responsible
for the adoption of proper methods of accounting at the close
of its year. He shall see that the books are examined and approved
by the auditors appointed by the Federation.
e) The Treasurer shall be responsible for all his financial transaction
to the President/Secretary General, and shall act in administrative
matters according to the directive of the Secretary General.
h) He shall have an imprest of Rs. 5000/= for day to day expenses.
i) The funds shall be disbursed with the signature of any two
of the three officers – Treasurer, President/Secretary
THE JOINT SECRETARIES
The Joint Secretaries shall perform following functions:
1) Assist the Secretary General in all administrative affairs
and perform duties assigned to them by the Secretary General from
time to time.
Article 10 – Finance Committee
The Finance Inspection Committee shall be made up of four members
nominated by the Executive Body and they shall not be members
of the Executive Body. Their duty shall be to inspect the finances
of the Federation. Their term of office shall be two years.
Article 11 - Arbitration Committee
All unresolved disputes arising under the articles of this Constitution
shall be decided by the Arbitration Committee. The General Body
shall appoint a standing Arbitration Panel of five non-executive
members of whom three will - with the approval of the interested
parties - arbitrate in any unresolved dispute.
Article 12 - Proposed Amendments to the Constitution by
the Membership
Any provision of this Constitution may be waived or changed in
General Body by a quorum of over 50% of the membership and a majority
of two thirds of those present and voting, provided that three
months’ written notice has been given of such proposed changes
to the Secretariat.
Article 13– Dissolution
a) If the Federation is dissolved, the funds remaining after liquidation
shall be donated to a charity or charities as agreed by the Executive
Body.
b) The relevant authorities (Register of Societies) shall be
informed in writing of the dissolution of the Federation and,
in accordance with the societies Act, the last Executive Body
shall gazette the dissolution.
Article 14 - Other Matters
In matters not dealt with by this Constitution, reference shall
be made to the Societies Act and subject to the constitution of
India and as per the principles of Natural Justice.
Article 15– Jurisdiction
All litigations shall be under the jurisdiction of Chennai
