Constitution

Article No. 1: Name of the Society

Name: The Society shall be called “Madhya Pradesh State Ophthalmic Society” hereafter called “The Society”.

Article No. 2: Aims and Objects of the Society

To create a scientific atmosphere and foster goodwill amongst all the Eye specialists of Madhya Pradesh.
To help and encourage a grass root academic approach and promote an atmosphere of advanced technology transfer thorough the conferences and workshops.
To establish “Reference Libraries” and encourage Journal Committees at the Divisional Society level.
To create “Think Tank” at the State and Divisional level to facilitate academic interaction amongst all the members of the society.
To form a legal cell at the State level under the President of the Society to make the members aware of the present day Law and Consumer Protection provisions in the country and advise our members as and when they need it.
To keep a vigilant eye and alert ears about the possible future legislation that may affect the profession and the patients at large. To take necessary steps at the right time to safe guard them.
To help the members in the art and science of Scientific Papers preparation and presentation through the Scientific Committee.
To hold a good Annual Conference and CME, so as to gather the maximum number of members of M.P.S.O.S for a relevant and updated scientific program along with cultural and emotional integration in addition to the aims stated above. Also the society will facilitate organisation of charitable activities related to eye care under its banner.
To establish a rapport with other Medical Societies and Associations in the state and in the country. To encourage the members to participate in these Inter-State and National Scientific events. To invite National faculties for the conferences for academic progress.
To keep a watch on the morale and ethical values in practice of Ophthalmology by members of M.P.S.O.S.
To add, delete, alter, amend and/or revise the Constitution and its Bye-laws by due constitutional process of M.P.S.O.S.
Landed property: It is not recommended that the Society shall acquire any landed property or equipment or instruments or library or audio visual facility for the next 10 years.
Dissolution or split of the M.P.S.O.S: The Society does not make any provision for dissolution of the Society. Any individual or any Divisional Society, that so desire, may leave the Society after paying any dues payable by them.
Split of the Society can occur only when a political bifurcation of the M.P. State occurs and separated Divisional Societies decide to form a new body and present their General Body resolution to this effect.

Article No. 3: Membership

There shall be four types of members:

Regular Life Member
Associate Life Member
P G Member
Honorary Life Member

1. Regular Life Member (R L M)

All Qualified Eye specialist of M.P. with Degree or Diploma in Ophthalmology or an equivalent degree recognized by the MCI and registered with M.P. Medical Council, shall be entitled to apply for a Regular Life Membership of M.P.S.O.S. They should submit the application form duly filled along with relevant proofs of their eligibility and the membership fee to the secretary. The Secretary shall verify the eligibility and recommend acceptance or other wise to the General body. On approval of the General body, the membership shall start after the end of the Annual Conference. All regular members shall have the right to attend the General Body Meeting, to vote and to hold office. Registering for the annual conference is not mandatory to attend the G.B. He /She shall also be entitled to receive a copy of the proceedings of the society, and all other publications, free of cost. Regular Life Members shall be eligible to participate in all academic activities.

2.Associate Life Member (A L M)

Eye specialist practicing in any part of Indian Union outside M.P. with qualifications similar to that of the R L M shall be entitled to apply for an Associate Life Membership. The Associate Life Members shall not be entitled to attend the General body meeting; vote for an office; or hold office in the MPSOS. All other privileges shall be similar to the RLM

3. P G Member (P G M)

All P.G. students of ophthalmology in the medical colleges of M.P. shall be entitled to apply for a “PG” Membership. The PG Members shall not be entitled to vote, hold office or attend the General Body meeting. Otherwise the privileges, at the scientific meetings of the Society, shall be similar to the RLM.The Membership no. Will start as a separate series starting from Serial no. 3000. A separate register should be maintained for them and on completion of PG when they apply for full registration a new RLM no. Should be allotted.

4. Honorary Life Member (H L M)

This class of life membership is to honour a RLM above the age of 70 years. All R LM and A LM above the age of 70 yrs. will be made honorary members. The names will be furnished by Divisional Ophthalmic Societies., The Gen. Secretary will send a letter of invitation to the Hon. Member to attend the Conference with complimentary registration and inform the LOC about it. Only RLM on becoming Hon. Member will be entitled to vote in the society elections but he will not be eligible to hold any position of office ( Ex. Committee) in MPSOS.

Regular Life Member:	Right to vote, hold office, attend meetings as per entitlement, receive society publications
Associate Life Member	Attend meetings as per entitlement, receive society publications
Post Graduate Member	Attend meetings as per entitlement, receive society scientific publications
Honorary Life Member	Attend meetings as per entitlement, receive society publications

Article No. 4: Cessation of Membership

The Membership of Society shall cease:

By voluntary resignation of the member.
By a decision of the General Body by a 2/3rd majority to delete the name of any member from the register of membership for unprofessional behaviour or conduct. Before any such action is taken the offending member shall be served with notice in writing to appear before the Executive Committee to give an opportunity to explain his conduct. After the hearing the Executive committee can recommend suitable action to the General Body for ratification.

Article No. 5: Jurisdiction

State Branch:

The entire territory of the State of Madhya Pradesh shall be under the jurisdiction of the State Branch.

Divisional Branches:

Each Administrative revenue divisions shall have a Divisional Branch named after the Divisional Headquarter. Presently there are seven Divisions namely: Bhopal, Gwalior, Indore, Jabalpur, Rewa, Sagar and Ujjain.

The Divisional Societies shall be affiliated to the M.P.S.O.S.
Each affiliated Divisional Society shall pay Rs. 10000 /- (Rupees Ten Thousand only) as Permanent Affiliation Fee to the M.P.S.O.S.
Each affiliated Divisional Society shall have at least 10 (Ten) members on its roll who are also members of the M.P.S.O.S.
The Divisional Societies shall frame their own Constitution, which shall not conflict with the Constitution and Byelaws of the State Society.
Report of the activities of the Divisional Society may be published in the Souvenir of the Conference.
Each Divisional Society shall send names of its representatives in the State Executive Committee at least two months prior to the Conference.
The Divisional Societies shall register ophthalmologists of their division as members and on transfer from one division to another division the membership shall automatically be transferred from one division to another division on submission of a letter from the divisional secretary.

Article No. 6: Management of the Society

All the regular life members and Honorary Life Members (Only RLM and HLM) of the society will constitute the General Body of the society. Affairs of the M.P.S.O.S shall be managed by the General Body through its Governing Council. All the decisions taken by the General Body within the constitutional framework shall be final and mandatory for implementation by the Governing Council.

Composition of the Governing Council:

The Governing Council shall be formed with the following categories of the members:

Elected Members – 5
Nominated Members – 14
Elected Members:
President
Vice President
General Secretary
Treasurer
Joint Secretary
Nominated Members

[7×2=14]. There shall be two (2) nominated members from each Divisional Society.

The Constitution governing the M.P.S.O.S shall be passed by the G.B. The G.B. shall make and amend constitution, accept/reject/ and amends reports and decisions of the committees within the constitution frame work

The society shall be managed by 8 constitutional committees and elected office bearers for these committees for specific terms of office: –

Executive Committee;
Standing Committee;
Scientific Committee;
Elections Committee;
Awards Committee;
Constitutional Review Committee;
Information Technology Committee.
Ethics/High Power Advisory Committee

Article No. 7: Structure and Function of the General Body

All the regular life members and honorary life members (Only RLM and HLM) of the society will constitute the General Body of the society. This will be the supreme body of the Society and the decisions will be final and binding on the members. All powers of the Society, its various committees and of the office bearers shall be derived from the General Body, which shall be the sovereign authority of the Society. The General Body will function under the framework of constitution.

The General Body shall meet once in a year during the Annual Conference and shall take stock of the functioning of its constitutional committees. It shall evaluate the functions of the committees, accept, modify or reject their suggestion. It shall review the financial position presented by the Treasurer and review the allotment of finances and its allotment to different committees. The General Body shall elect/nominate new office bearers as per the constitution.

The President of the M.P.S.O.S shall preside over all General Body Meetings during his term of office. In the absence of the President, the Vice President shall preside and if the Vice President is also absent then the President Elect shall preside. In case none of them is present, then the General Body shall nominate an Officiating President, with all powers of the President for that meeting only. The General Body shall record its displeasure for the absence (without prior intimation) of these office bearers.
The G.B. shall govern the affairs of the Society through the elected Office Bearers and Committees.
Agenda: of the meeting shall be prepared by the General Secretary in consultation with the Executive Committee and circulated to the members at least 2 months in advance. Handing over of the charge of the office of the President to the President Elect by the outgoing President shall be the last agenda of the annual conference. Term of the other relevant office bearers shall also start immediately after the adjournment of the annual MPOS conference.
Quorum: A minimum of 20% of the total regular membership shall form the quorum for the General Body meeting
Adjourned meeting: In case there is no quorum for the Annual General Body meeting, the President shall adjourn the meeting and call it after a minimum of 20 minutes interval at the same date and place. The adjourned meeting shall not require a quorum but any decision taken there shall need a minimum of 60% Yes votes in favour.

Extra Ordinary General Body Meeting:

The Agenda for the Special General Body meeting shall be an urgent matter in the interest of the society which cannot wait till the forthcoming Annual General Body meeting.The meeting may be called by:-

(i) A joint decision of the President and the General Secretary for a very specific purpose stated precisely as the “Agenda”.

(ii) On requisition signed by at least 2/3rd members of the Executive Committee stating the purpose and its urgency.

(iii) On a requisition signed by 20% of the total strength of the regular members on the membership Roster of the Society.

Quorum shall be 20 % of the total member on roster.

Article No. 8: Constitutional Committees

A. Executive Committee

Committee shall meet at the time of the Annual General Conference only unless an extra ordinary situation requires an urgent meeting for a specific purpose. No other issue shall be discussed in such a meeting. No member shall leave the meeting without a permission of the chair

1) Composition

The Executive Committee shall be formed with the following categories of the members:

A. Elected Members- 7
B. Nominated Members- 14
C. Ex-officio members – 8

There shall be 29 members in the present structure. This may vary with the changes in numbers of Revenue Division. Elected members of the Executive Committee shall be elected by the General Body.

Elected Members:

President
President Elect
Vice President
General Secretary
Chairperson Scientific Committee
Treasurer
Joint Secretary

Nominated Members

[7 x 2 = 14].There shall be two (2) nominated members from each Divisional Society.

Ex-Officio Members

There shall be 8 Ex-officio members (Non Voting):

(i)Two Immediate Past Presidents
(ii) One Immediate past General Secretary
(iii) One Immediate past Chairperson Scientific Committee
(iv) Two Nominated Members for AIOS Managing Committee
(v) Organising President (LOC)
(vi) Organising Secretary.(LOC)

The President may call invitee members from amongst its Regular Members to attend the Executive Committee meetings. The Invitee Member shall be an advisory member and not a voting member

The General Secretary shall call the Annual Executive Committee Meeting giving a notice of at least one month to all the members. The notice shall contain the agenda of the Executive committee meeting, precise date and time and place of the meeting with a blue print of the Agenda to be placed before the Annual General Body. The place of the meeting shall be in the city of the Annual General Conference only. This meeting of the Executive committee shall be held a day prior to the first day of the Conference.

Quorum for Executive Committee meeting shall be 60% of the voting members. In the absence of quorum the adjourned meeting shall need 60% yes votes for its resolutions to pass.

2) Powers and Functions of the Executive Committee and its members

The Executive Committee shall be responsible for running the affairs of M.P.S.O.S and shall be responsible to the General Body only. The Executive Committee decisions can be changed, modified or deleted by the General Body with a 60% Yes votes and within the Constitution.

The Executive Committee shall guide the working of Standing Committee, Scientific Committee,

The Executive committee shall not interfere with the working of the Elections Committee, Awards Committee, and Constitutional Review Committee and High Power Advisory Committee. However the Executive Committee shall constantly watch that these Committees are functioning within the constitutional frame work or else the Executive Committee shall have the power to advise them on the constitutional provisions and ask them to reconsider their actions and decisions.

The property of the M.P.S.O.S shall be controlled by the Executive Committee and the Committee shall be responsible to the General Body.

In the interest of smooth running of M.P.S.O.S, the Executive Committee shall have the power to form sub committees for maximum term of two years. The General Body in its wisdom may extend their term as required or even convert them as Permanent Sub committees.

Office Bearers:

The office bearers will be of two categories:

Nominated by GBM
Elected

Nominated Members.

[A] President: For one year ( Nominated)

The President elect will be nominated as President in the next GBM. The term of the office for a President shall be one year. The President shall uphold the constitution, watch over the function of every other office bearer and shall have the power to intervene if the constitution is violated The President shall be answerable to the General Body for every decision taken by the Executive Committee and the Standing Committee

He shall preside over the G B Meetings, the Executive Committee meeting and the Standing Committee meetings.

[B] President Elect: For one year( Nominated)

The Divisional society office should send the name proposed for the post (along with written consent from the candidate) to the Secretary M.P.S.O.S at least 2 months before the conference dates along with a letter of acceptance to hold the next conference. The proposed name should fulfil the eligibility criteria for the post.

If any names are not received the General Body will decide the name of the President Elect by a majority.

During the period of one year of office the President Elect shall familiarize with every facet of the MPSOS. Each Divisional Society shall have a chance [by Alphabetical Order of the name of the Divisional Society] to propose one name for the office of the “President Elect” from amongst its Divisional Society members.

However if the Divisional Society is not holding the next conference they will not be entitled to send a name for the President Elect and the next division in alphabetical order will host the conference and propose the name for the President Elect from the division.

[C] Members for the Managing Committee of AIOS: For 3 Years

For AIOS managing committee one name will be called from divisional Societies once in 3 years along with their bio data and proof of eligibility to be put before the executive committee. The executive committee shall propose two names to be nominated as members of the managing committee of AIOS from the state. On approval of the general body the names along with their tenure period shall be informed to the Secretary AIOS. The members shall have to assure that they shall positively attend all the managing committee meeting of AIOS during their tenure and raise issues pertaining to the state society.

Elected Members:

[A] Vice President: For Two year( Elected)

The Vice President shall discharge the duties of the President in his absence. While acting in place of the President, the Vice President shall have all the powers of the President.

[B] General Secretary: For 2 years( Elected)

General Secretary shall be elected at the Annual General Body meeting for a term of two years. The term of office shall start immediately after the adjournment of the annual conference. The General Secretary shall function according to the Constitution as the Chief Executive and fulfil the responsibilities given to the Executive Committee and the Standing Committee.

[C] Chairperson Scientific Committee: For 2 years( Elected)

Chairperson Scientific Committee shall be elected at the Annual General Body meeting for a term of two years. After the elections, the term of office shall start immediately after the adjournment of the current Annual conference. The Chairperson shall be responsible to fulfil the expectations of the members from the Scientific Committee.

[D] Treasurer: For 2 years( Elected)

Treasurer shall be elected at the Annual General Body meeting for a term of two years. The term of office shall start immediately after the adjournment of the current Annual conference. The Treasurer is considered to be the financial guardian and also the watch person of the M.P.S.O.S finances. The Treasurer shall be empowered by the Constitution to look after any money that is collected in the name of the M.P.S.O.S. In the absence of the Treasurer the General Secretary shall look after the work of the Treasurer. He will submit an audited account every year at Executive committee and also at Gen. Body. He will have the powers to appoint an auditor for his tenure of his office. On completion of his tenure he will transfer all the books of accounts and all financial documents to the newly appointed treasurer within 1 month of the end of the conference.

[E] Joint Secretary: For 2 year( Elected)

Joint Secretary shall be elected at the Annual General Body meeting for a term of two year. The term of office shall start immediately after the current Annual conference finally adjourns. The Joint Secretary shall assist the General Secretary and shall familiarize with the affairs of the M.P.S.O.S in all respects. Joint Secretary shall officiate for the General Secretary in the absence of the General Secretary with all the powers of the General Secretary. For all practical purposes in the absence of the General Secretary, the Joint Secretary shall immediately take over and the Society work shall run uninterrupted.

B. Standing Committee:

When the Executive Committee cannot be called due to urgency of the matter or time constraints or when the matter on hand is the follow up of the executive decisions only the Standing Committee shall take decisions which do not violate any existing decisions of the other Constitutional Committees. The Standing Committee shall be responsible to the Executive Committee.

Ordinarily the Standing Committee shall attend to the need for an Executive Committee meeting. In extraordinary situation an urgent meeting of the Standing committee shall be called with a notice of 3 days. All other Executive Committee members (not members of the Standing Committee) shall be requested to send their views in writing in clear unambiguous terms and their views shall be given full weight in the Standing Committee meeting before taking any decision. The decision of the urgent Standing Committee meeting shall be considered to be an Executive Committee meeting.

The Quorum for a meeting shall be 60% of the members. The Standing Committee shall have the following members:

The President as the Chairperson
President Elect;
Vice President
General Secretary
Chairperson Scientific Committee
Treasurer
Joint Secretary

C. Scientific Committee

There shall be 4 (four) members in the Scientific Committee presided by the Chairperson. In addition to the elected Chairperson, the Scientific Committee shall have three nominated members for a term of two years. The President and General Secretary shall be the Ex-Officio members of the Committee. The nomination for the members of the Committee shall be done by the Chairperson of Scientific Committee and the same shall be communicated to the General Secretary within 15 days of adjournment of the Annual General Body meeting. The nominated members should fulfil the eligibility criteria and the proof regarding the same should also be submitted along with their names.

Guest Faculty – 5 faculty to be decided by Sc. Committee and 1 by Local organising committee. Local organising committee will also retain the scope of calling one Guest of Honour and one Chief Guest – therefore a total of 8 guest faculty (5 decided by Scientific Committee, 3 decided by local organising committee))

Within the constitutional frame work and the decisions taken at the General Body meeting of the year, the Chairperson Scientific Committee and the Scientific Committee shall have a free hand to arrange the scientific program.

During the Annual General Body Meeting, the lay out and the guidelines for the next Annual Conference and its Scientific Program shall be presented in details. A free hand shall be given to the Scientific Committee for scheduling the scientific program and the local organizing committee will make required arrangements for the same. A Quiz competition shall be arranged by the Scientific Committee every year to generate scientific interest amongst the Post Graduate Members and suitable prize/ prizes shall be awarded. The scientific committee shall identify a “quiz master” well in advance for this purpose each year so that the quiz master has sufficient time to prepare for the competition.

D. Election Committee (for 2 years)

All the elections of M.P.S.O.S shall be conducted by the Election Committee.

The E.C. shall be formed by the Executive Committee for a period of two years. The Election Committee shall consist of a Chairperson and two members. The Election Committee shall be ready to hold elections at every General Body meeting and be forearmed with Ballot Box, List of Authorized voters and blank ballot papers. President and the current General Secretary shall be the ex officio members of the Committee. The General Secretary shall be the Convener of the Committee. The members should not be contesting for any post in that year.

E: Awards Committee:

Awards Committee consisting of 3 Immediate Past Presidents. Each year one Past President shall retire and new Past President shall enter. The senior most of them by the year in office as President shall be the Chairperson. The current President and the current General Secretary shall be the ex officio members of the Committee. The General Secretary shall be the Convener of the Committee. If any member of the award committee is contesting for the award, he will not be in the award committee in that particular year and the President will appoint a member fulfilling the criteria for the post for that particular year only, but he will not be the Chairman.

1)Honorary Awards:

Will be decided by the awards Committee. The dignity of an award shall be held up righteously and awards be dispensed without fear or favour. No individual or Committee or office bearer of M.P.S.O.S shall interfere with the selection process as long as the constitutional provisions are not violated.

2)Prof G. S. Wagle Oration Award:

A panel of three judges from the State faculty shall be appointed by the Scientific Committee for Prof. G.S. Wagle Award.

3)Competitive awards:

The Chairperson Scientific Committee shall appoint 3 judges for each award from amongst the members attending the Conference. The judges shall be contacted well in advance and a printed copy of the marking procedure shall be given to them.The decision of the Award Committees shall be final.

F. Constitutional Review Committee (for 1 year)

The Constitution and Byelaws of the Society shall be reviewed every 5th year by a five-member Constitution Review Committee formed by the General Body. On the recommendations of the Executive Committee, the General Body shall form a three member “Constitution Review Committee” including a Convener and two members, for a term of one year, a year before the scheduled Special GB. The current President and the Secretary shall be ex-officio members. The Committee shall comprise of five members: [a] Convener; [b] Two Members; [c] President as Ex-officio member and [d] General Secretary as Ex-officio member. The Convener shall preside.

G. Information & Technology Committee:

The committee shall be formed by the Executive Committee for a period of two years. The Election Committee shall consist of a Chairperson and two members. The President, Gen Secretary and Sci. Committee Chairman will be Ex officio members. The term of the committee can be extended by the GBM . Only the information approved by Ex. Committee/Gen.Secretary should be posted on the web site.

H. Ethics/High Power Advisory Committee: Will be formed by executive committee and consist of one Honrary Life member from each division.The current President and the Secretary shall be ex-officio members . The senior most member will be the Chair Person of the committee. All disputes related to the functioning of the society will be forwarded to the committee for their advise.The recommendations of the will be accepted by the executive committee within the constitutional framework.

Article No. 9: Posts, Tenure & Constituencies

*POST*	*TENURE*	*CONSTITUENCY*
*President (Nominated)*	*1 year*	*President Elect of Last GBM*
*PRESIDENT ELECT( Nominated)*	*1 year*	*Place of the forthcoming conference*
VICE PRESIDENT	2 year	Any place except conference division
GENERAL SECRETARY	2 years	Any place except conference division
CHAIRPERSON SCIENTIFIC COMMITTEE	2 years	Any place except conference division
TREASURER	2 years	Any place except conference division
JOINT SECRETARY	2 year	Any place except conference division

General Secretary and Treasurer can be from any division except the Conference holding division. However they both should be from the same division. The candidates for the posts of General Secretary and Treasure shall file their nomination in pairs. The pair obtaining the highest vote shall be declared elected. There can be any number of pairs from a division.

Article No. 10: Election Procedure and Eligibility

Election Procedure and Eligibility

All elections shall be held on the 1st day of the annual conference. Ballot voting system shall be followed. Any post falling vacant due to any reason shall be filled as an additional charge by the next Office Bearer in the hierarchy till the next Annual General Body meeting where a new office bearer shall be elected for the remaining term only.

Nominations for various posts shall be called by the General Secretary of M.P.S.O.S through his first circular for the Annual Conference indicating eligibility and number of posts and their term of office.

The General Secretary shall give a clear 90 days’ notice for submission of nominations duly proposed and seconded to be sent directly at the address of the Chairperson Election committee by a registered post or by hand by 15th August of the Election Year. The Election Committee shall be responsible for scrutiny of the nominations, intimation of the relevant names for a particular post and shall fix a date for the Withdrawal of Name. A copy of the final list of contestants after the withdrawal date shall be forwarded to the General Secretary for including the list in his second circular by 15th September of the Election Year.

The Election Committee shall always be in readiness to conduct an election by Secret Ballot. The Chairperson shall be responsible for obtaining an authorized list of the Valid Regular Life Members on the date of election from the General Secretary. The Organizing Secretary shall help the Election Committee to their full satisfaction on this matter.

With a view to ensure a fair election without a regional bias, the hosting Divisional Society shall not put up a candidate from their division.

Eligibility criteria for various Constitutional Posts of office of M.P.S.O.S:

A. President Elect for 1 year ( Nomination)

President Elect shall be nominated by the Annual General Body for a term of one year. He/she shall assume the office of the President after completing the office of President Elect. The eligibility of a candidate for the post of President Elect shall be as follows:

a] The candidate for the post shall be having good standing of at least last 15 years continuously in the Society as a Regular Life Member.

b] He/she must have held an Office in the Divisional Society, State society or AIOS.

c] He/she must have attended at least one of the last three Annual M.P.S.O.S Annual Conferences

d] He/she should be the only name recommended and consented by the concerned Divisional Society.

e] He/She shall be eligible for the post for not more than two terms only.

B. Vice President for 2 year( Election)

Vice President shall be elected at the Annual General Body Meeting for a term of one year. The eligibility of a candidate for the post of Vice President shall be as follows:

a] The candidate for the post shall be having good standing of at least last 10 years continuously in the Society as a Regular Life Member.