Association of Radiation Oncologists of India

West Bengal Chapter

Date : 19th September 2023

Constitution

In the last Annual General Body Meeting of the Association held on 25th of March, 2023, it was decided that a Committee would be formed to draft a Constitution for the Association.

Accordingly, a Committee was constituted with the following Senior Members :

Dr. Siddhartha Basu
Dr. Phalguni Gupta
Dr. Pradip Kumar Maiti
Dr. Tapas Maji
Mr. Sayan Datta (Ld Advocate, High Court, Kolkata, Legal Expert)
Dr. Litan Naha Biswas (President AROI WB, Ex-officio Member)
Dr. Abhishek Basu (Secretary AROI WB, Ex-officio Member)

The Committee deliberated on the matter, using the Constitution of the Central Body of the Association as a template, and principally with the help of the legal expert, a draft Constitution was prepared.

In a virtual meeting of the Committee held on 29th of June, 2023, the draft of this Constitution was finalized.

The final draft of the Constitution of the Association was put up on the Website for 30 calendar days starting today (i.e. till 3rd of August, 2023) and comments sought from all Members.

Subsequently the draft Constitution was ratified by an Extraordinary General Body Meeting of the Association held at the Seminar Room, Department of Radiotherapy, IPGM&R, Kolkata on the 2nd of September, 2023. The resolution for adopting the ratification of the Constitution was proposed by Dr. Subir Gangopadhyay and seconded by Dr. Sayan Das.

The Constitution of the AROI WB Chapter was forwarded to the Central body for information and necessary action. The Central body subsequently ratified the Constitution on the 19th of September 2023.

The rules and bye laws of the Constitution of the AROI West Bengal Chapter shall therefore come into force immediately and shall henceforth govern all activities (including future events, elections etc.) of the Association.

THE ASSOCIATION OF RADIATION ONCOLOGISTS OF INDIA WEST BENGAL CHAPTER
CONSTITUTION

RULES & BYE-LAWS

The Association of Radiation Oncologists of India – West Bengal Chapter is registered at Kolkata under Societies Registration Act – S/2L/10268 of 2013-2014. The constitution of the Association of Radiation Oncologists of India – West Bengal Chapter is being formulated in line with, but distinct from, the parent body (Association of Radiation Oncologists of India) as per provisions laid down in section 9.3 of the Rules and Bye Laws of the Constitution of the parent body.

PREAMBLE

The vision of few dozen Radiation Oncologists of India gave birth to the idea of forming the Association of Radiation Oncologists of India in 1974, mainly to provide a common forum to the Radiation Oncologists of India to meet and to share experience and research observations in the field of Radiation Oncology.

The West Bengal Chapter was formed in alignment with other state chapters, to further strengthen the activities of the association locally in the state of West Bengal under the provisions of section 9 of the constitution of the Association of Radiation Oncologists of India.

PART 1 : MEMORANDUM OF THE ASSOCIATION

  1. The name of the Association is “The Association of Radiation Oncologists of India West Bengal Chapter”.
  2. The Registered office of the Association shall be situated at Kolkata, West Bengal at present.
  3. Aims and Objectives.
    1. To encourage and advance the knowledge, study and practice of the science of radiation oncology in all ways.
    2. To encourage research including experimental work, in the science of radiation oncology.
    3. To organize, establish, conduct, superintend or control institutions for promoting, whether directly or indirectly, the study of and research in problems relating to radiation oncology.
    4. To hold and organize conferences, exhibitions, study circles, continuing medical education programs or conventions for the study and discussion of problems relating to and allied with the science of radiation oncology.
    5. To make pecuniary grants by way of fellowships, donations, subscriptions, allowances, or otherwise to and for the benefit of deserving students, scholars and other persons who are worthy of receiving such grants by reasons of their skill and proficiency in the science of practice of radiation oncology.
    6. To provide instructions and education to deserving persons in the science of radiation oncology.
    7. To award prizes, medals or other certificates or diploma of proficiency in the science of radiation oncology to persons found deserving after such tests, examination or other forms of scrutiny as may be prescribed from time to time.
    8. To make rules prescribing standards of professional conduct for members of the Association.
    9. To print, publish, distribute or sell books, pamphlets, journals, periodicals newspapers or magazines or any other literature in print or electronic media on any matter concerning or relating to the science or practice of radiation oncology or the life or work of eminent persons in the field of radiation oncology.
    10. To suggest, study, offer opinion and advice on, or take part in the framing of laws affecting the science of radiation oncology, medical education, health policies and health care activities.
    11. To promote esprit-de-corps among persons studying of practicing the science of radiation oncology and good feelings between them and members of the general public or public authorities.
    12. To co-operate with other associations or individuals to promote the objectives of the Association.
    13. To construct, provide, regulate and maintain buildings, rooms or other structures for the purposes of the Association and to alter, add or remove any of them.
    14. To receive any gift or legacy of moveable or immovable assets with or without conditions for promoting the objectives of the Association.
    15. To acquire by purchase, lease or otherwise any property rights or privileges for the purposes of the Association.
    16. To act as trustees, or agents or managers of property endowed by any person for objectives similar to those of the Association.
    17. To encourage formation of chapters/branches at regional and state level and to appoint agents and correspondents whether in India or abroad for promoting all or any of the objectives of the Association.
    18. To draw, make, accept, endorse, execute, negotiate, purchase, lend money upon, discount, hold and dispose of cheques, promissory notes, bills of exchange, drafts, and other instruments and to cancel or change such instruments as per statutes of the Government.
    19. To lay out, advance, invest, and deal with the Association’s funds for successfully conducting the workings of the Association.
    20. To engage such officials, helpers or other persons as may be found necessary or useful for the conduct and management of the affairs of the Association.
    21. To make bye-laws, rules and regulations of the Association and to delete, change, or add to the same as required by the Association from time to time.
    22. To do all such other acts as may be necessary, incidental, conducive, or convenient to the attainment of the above objectives or any of them.

EXPLANATION

It is hereby declared that none of the objectives or powers enumerated above shall be deemed subsidiary or auxiliary to the objectives mentioned in any one or more of them.

PART II : RULES AND BYE-LAWS

  1. DEFINITIONS AND ABBREVIATIONS

    Unless otherwise in the succeeding paragraphs:

    1. Association means “The Association of Radiation Oncologists of India West Bengal Chapter” or “AROI West Bengal Chapter” or “AROI WB Chapter” which shall mean one and the same thing unless otherwise specified.
    2. Central office shall mean “The Association of Radiation Oncologists of India”.
    3. HQ means the “Head Quarters” of the Association located at Kolkata.
    4. Journal of the Association means the “Bengal Journal of Cancer”.
    5. AROI WB CON means the Annual State Conference of the Association of Radiation Oncologists of India West Bengal Chapter.
    6. Ex-Officio Members shall mean such members as specified under Clause 3.2.9 below.
    7. Executive Committee means the Executive Committee of the Association of Radiation Oncologists of India-West Bengal.
    8. Co-opted members mean such members as specified under Clause 3.2.10 below.
    9. Organizing Secretary means the “Organizing Secretary of the Annual Conference of the Association of Radiation Oncologists of India West Bengal”.
    10. AGM means the “Annual General Body Meeting” of the Association of Radiation Oncologists of India West Bengal Chapter.
    11. Website of the Association means www.aroiwb.org. The Central AROI website being www.aroi.org.

  2. MEMBERSHIP

    1. The membership of the Association shall be of four categories, viz.

      • Life Member
      • Life Members Student
      • Associate Member
      • Trade Member

    2. ELIGIBILITY CRITERIA FOR VARIOUS CATEGORIES OF MEMBERSHIP

        All members of the Association of Radiation Oncologists of India, who are resident in or trained from West Bengal, are eligible for membership of the Association of Radiation Oncologists of India-West Bengal Chapter. Granting Membership is the sole discretion of the Central Body and the Members, thereafter, are accepted as Members of the state chapter upon payment of requisite fees as detailed in sections 2.3 and 2.4 below.

      1. LIFE MEMBER : Life Member shall be one who possesses a post-graduate degree such as MD/DNB Radiotherapy or Diploma such as DMRT (though presently in the state of West Bengal, this Diploma is not prevalent) or equivalent or MSc Medical Physics or BSc Physics with DRP from an University or Institution recognized by the Medical Council of India /National Medical Council and/or approved by the Executive Committee, and who has paid the requisite fees including admission fees both for the Central body as well as the Association (state chapter) and is duly accepted by the Association as a Life member. The Life Members shall have the right to vote.
      2. LIFE MEMBER (STUDENT) : All postgraduate students pursuing MD/DNB Radiotherapy from recognized university/institutions are eligible to become Life Member (Student). They will pay the requisite admission fees both for the Central body as well as the Association (state chapter). Upon completion of their post graduation, they shall be required to submit their post graduate degree certificate to have the voting rights (without any additional charges for the same). The Life Members (Student) shall not have the right to vote.
      3. ASSOCIATE MEMBER : Post-Graduate degree/diploma holders of subjects like radiobiology, radiation medicine, radiation protection as accepted by the Association. They will pay the requisite admission fees both for the Central body as well as the Association (state chapter). The Associate Members shall not have the right to vote.
      4. TRADE MEMBER : Members with at least 3 years standing in trade as accepted by the Association. They will also pay requisite admission fees both for the Central body as well as the Association (state chapter). The Trade Members shall not have the right to vote.

    3. MEMBERSHIP PROCEDURE

        All members of the Association of Radiation Oncologists of India, who are resident in or trained from West Bengal, are eligible for membership of the Association of Radiation Oncologists of India-West Bengal Chapter.

      1. The membership application shall be in a form which must be ratified by the Executive Committee of the Association (State chapter) and thence approved by the Central Executive Committee of the Association of Radiation Oncologists of India and shall require to be duly proposed and seconded by existing valid Life Members both of the Central body and this Association. The application shall be accompanied by documentary evidence of eligibility, qualification and prescribed admission fees. All new Membership applications from West Bengal must be endorsed by the Secretary of the Association or his / her delegated representatives from the Executive Committee.
      2. The Central Executive Committee of the Association of Radiation Oncologists of India will be the final authority for acceptance of membership of the applicant. The Central Executive Committee of the Association of Radiation Oncologists of India will accept resignation of members and shall also decide the cessation of membership for any reason.

    4. MEMBERSHIP FEES

      1. To become a Member of the Association, a person has to be a member of both the Central body as well as the Association and therefore pay the requisite membership fees of both the Central body as well as the Association.
      2. Central body (Association of Radiation Oncologists of India) membership fees will be decided by the General Body of the Central body. This fees is presently INR 6500 plus GST.
      3. The Membership Fee to join the Association of Radiation Oncologists of India West Bengal Chapter, will be decided by the General Body of the Association which shall be not less than INR 2000 plus GST.
      4. The Life Membership fee of the Association may be increased as per decision taken by the Executive Committee (will need to be ratified by the General Body) from time to time.

    5. RESIGNATION

      A member wishing to resign from his/her membership shall communicate the same expressly (i.e. in writing) to the Secretary General of Association of Radiation Oncologists of India, with copy to the Secretary of Association of Radiation Oncologists of India West Bengal Chapter. Life membership admission fees previously paid at the time of obtaining the Membership shall not be refunded and the name of such member shall be removed from the Membership Register of the state chapter as well as the Central body.

    6. MIGRATION

      A member wishing to migrate to/from another chapter of AROI, shall communicate the same to the Secretary of Association of Radiation Oncologists of India West Bengal Chapter as well as the Secretary of the other concerned state chapter from which he/she is immigrating /emigrating. Moreover, such a Member shall have to pay the requisite admission fee in lieu of Membership of the Association of the state chapter into which he/she is immigrating. Life membership admission fees paid to the Central Body previously need not be paid again. The name of the Member shall be removed from the Membership Register of the state chapter from which he / she is emigrating and added to Membership Register of the state chapter into which he/she is immigrating upon acceptance by the latter.

    7. CESSATION OF MEMBERSHIP

      1. Cessation by misconduct : The Executive Committee of the Association by a three-fourth (3/4th) majority of members present and voting in the meeting, may, after due inquiry, censure, suspend or expel any Member (that is remove from the Membership Register) for gross misconduct (such as actions considered to be detrimental to the interest of the Association or profession and/or in violation of the rules and regulations of the Association). The Executive Committee shall first serve the Member with a show cause notice showing therein the charges framed and ask him / her to submit a statement of defence within one month. On receipt of the explanation, the Executive Committee shall have the power to take a suitable action against the delinquent member after allowing the member concerned to defend the charges himself/herself including a hearing in person. If no reply to the show cause notice is received within one month, the Executive Committee may take an ex parte decision. All such decisions must be taken upon following the principles of natural justice, and, all such decisions of the Executive Committee regarding expulsion of any member shall be subject to a final approval / ratification by 2/3rd members present in the General Body of the Association.
      2. Cessation by death : In case of death of a Member, his / her personal records shall only be kept and safeguarded with the Association and shall only be accessible by other Members upon ratification by the Executive Committee.

    8. PRIVILEGES OF MEMBERS

      1. Subject to the provisions of these rules and bye-laws, all Life-Members, Associate Members and Life Member (Student) shall be entitled to participate in all activities of the Association.
      2. Only Life Member shall have the right to vote.
      3. All Life Members shall have the privilege of registration for the Annual Conference at a concessional rate, orations, awards, and official assignments from the Association.

  3. EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE

    1. The Executive Committee of this Association shall consist of the following members:
      1. President
      2. Vice President
      3. Vice President
      4. Secretary
      5. Joint Secretary
      6. Joint Secretary
      7. Treasurer
      8. Assistant Treasurer
      9. Member
      10. Member
      11. Member
      12. Member
      13. Member
      14. Member
      15. Member
      16. Ex-Officio Members
        Immediate Past President
        Immediate Past Secretary
      17. Co-opted Members
        Chief Election Commissioner appointed by the Association.
        Editor in Chief, Bengal Journal of Cancer
        Representative, West Bengal Medical Education Service / West Bengal Health Service. (optional)
        Representative, Young Radiation Oncologists’ Forum. (optional)
        Any other members recommended by the Executive Committee.

    2. TENURE :

      The Tenure of the Executive Committee detailed above shall be 2 (two) years or till the new Executive Committee takes over.

    3. ELECTIONS :

      1. ELIGIBILITY :

        1. President: To contest for the post of President, the candidate should be a Life Member of AROI as well as AROI WB Chapter continuously for a period of at least 15 years and should have completed at least one full term as a member of the Executive Committee of AROI WB Chapter.
        2. Vice President: To contest for the post of Vice President, the candidate shall be a Life Member of AROI as well as AROI WB Chapter continuously for a period of at least 12 years and should have completed at least one full term as a member of the Executive Committee of AROI WB Chapter.
        3. Secretary : To contest for the post of Vice President or Secretary, the candidate shall be a Life Member of AROI as well as AROI WB Chapter continuously for a period of at least 10 years and should have completed at least one full term as a member of the Executive Committee of AROI WB Chapter.
        4. Editor-in-Chief Journal: To be nominated by the new Executive Committee and ratified the General Body after the election. For the post of Editor-in-Chief of the Journal, the candidate shall be a Life Member of AROI as well as AROI WB Chapter continuously for a period of at least 15 years and should have served in the editorial board of the Journal of the Association, Newsletter, or Journal of Any State/Regional Chapter of AROI.
        5. Treasurer: To contest for the post of Treasurer, the candidate shall be a Life Member of AROI as well as AROI WB Chapter continuously for a period of at least 8 years.
        6. Joint Secretaries: To contest for the post of Joint Secretary, the candidate shall be a Life Member of AROI as well as AROI WB Chapter continuously for a period of at least 8 years.
        7. Assistant Treasurer: To contest for the post of Assistant Treasurer, the candidate shall be a Life Member of AROI as well as AROI WB Chapter continuously for a period of at least 6 years.
        8. Member Executive Committee: To contest for the post of Member Executive Committee, the candidate shall be a Life Member of AROI as well as AROI WB Chapter continuously for a period of at least 3 years.
        9. All the Elected Executive Committee Members should be ordinarily residing in West Bengal, India during the tenure of their office.
        10. No member shall be eligible to seek election consecutively for more than two tenures of two years each for the post of President, Vice President and Secretary.
        11. Persons holding the post of President shall not seek election to any post of the Executive Committee in the future.
        12. A member shall not contest simultaneously for more than one post.
        13. A person holding the post of Secretary are only eligible to seek further election to the same post or the posts of President or Vice President. Similarly, persons holding the post of Vice President are only eligible to seek further election to the same post or the posts of President. They may not apply for any lower post in the EC.

    4. ELECTION AND ELECTION PROCEDURE :

      1. Elections shall ordinarily be held every 2 years.
      2. Voting shall be carried out electronically. The vendor whose software will be used shall be ordinarily the one in charge of the Website of the Association. In case any other person / entity / vendor is selected by the Chief Election Commissioner such selection of Vendor shall be with consent of General Body.
      3. The Annual General Body Meeting shall nominate/elect on the floor of the house during the Annual General Body Meeting a Chief Election Commissioner who shall be entrusted with the task of carrying out the elections.
      4. The Chief Election Commissioner shall nominate two Election Commissioners from the same city who shall assist the Chief Election Commissioner. These three members i.e. the Chief Election Commissioner and two Election Commissioners shall be the Election Commission.
      5. All election related matters and issues shall be decided by the Election Commission and the decision of the Election Commission shall be final and binding on all members. However, on special cases, as decided by the Election Commission, the contesting members or the members of the Association may challenge a decision of the Election Commission solely with regard to election results, in writing, within 5 days of publication of the final results, and, in such a case, the Election Commission shall address such grievances.
      6. The Secretary shall provide the complete voter’s list of AROI to the Chief Election Commissioner. The Secretary shall also clearly indicate the various serial numbers for the cut-off for eligibility for various posts.
      7. The Election Commission shall put out all the notifications of the Elections including the nomination form and results on the Website of the Association latest by October 31st, indicating the Election Program so that the process of Election may be completed latest by December 31st.
      8. The nomination paper shall set out the candidate’s name and address, Life Membership Number and the office for which the candidate is nominated and shall be duly proposed by one valid Life Member of AROI, seconded by another valid Life Member of AROI, and duly signed by the candidate signifying his/her willingness to stand for election, serve in the Executive Committee and abide by the decisions of the Election Commission. Each nomination form shall be accompanied by the requisite Election fees as decided by the Executive Committee and Election Commission.
      9. Nomination papers shall also be accompanied by a bio-data of the candidates.
      10. All nominations received shall be uploaded to the website as per program, as shall be withdrawals and the final list of candidates for the elections, as per program prescribed and notified.
      11. In the event of an election being necessary, voting lines shall be open for at least 7 days and not more than 10 days, as per notification.
      12. On completion of voting the Election Commission shall arrange to do the counting electronically and communicate the results to Secretary, who shall declare the results as received from the Chief Election Commissioner / Election Commission at least clear 7 days before the Annual General Body Meeting of the Association.
      13. New Office Bearers shall take office upon declaration of results.
      14. Unfilled posts shall be filled up by the General Body and the procedure for such shall be conducted by the President and Secretary. Nominations for the unfilled posts shall be invited from the floor and will be decided by the General Body. In the event of an election, voting shall take place on the floor of the house.
      15. All co-opted members and ex-officio members will be announced by Secretary in the Annual General Body meeting.

  4. ORDER OF PRECEDENCE AND PROTOCOL

    1. The following would be the order of precedence:

      • President
      • Vice-Presidents
      • Secretary
      • Editor-in-Chief Bengal Journal of Cancer
      • Joint Secretaries
      • Treasurer

    2. Seating Arrangement on Dias at Inauguration of Annual Conference

      • Chief Guest at Centre
      • Guest of Honour to right of Chief Guest
      • President at the left of Chief Guest
      • Secretary to left of President

  5. MEETINGS

    1. ANNUAL GENERAL BODY MEETING

      1. The President shall preside over all the meetings of the General Body.

        If the President is not present, then one of the Vice Presidents shall preside. In the absence of the Vice President, the order of precedence shall be followed, and the senior-most functionary in the order of precedence shall preside.
      2. The quorum shall be a minimum of 20 Members.

        If the quorum is incomplete, then the house shall be adjourned and reassemble after 5 minutes and the meeting shall be held with the members present. The Meeting shall now be called an Adjourned Annual General Body Meeting.
      3. ANNUAL GENERAL BODY MEETING: The Annual General Body of the Association shall be held each year on the first day of the Annual Conference of the Association (AROI WB CON), preferably around 1700-1800 hrs at a place fixed by the Executive Committee.

        The notice and agenda of the Annual Conference shall be notified in the website at least 30 days in advance of the date fixed for the meeting. The notice for Annual General Body Meeting shall be issued by the Secretary.
      4. All Life Members including Student Members shall be allowed to attend the Annual General Body Meeting and take part actively in every aspect of the meeting. Any person, who is not a Member of the Association as on the date of the meeting shall not be allowed to remain present during the meeting.
      5. The Secretary shall present the minutes of the previous General Body Meeting, following which the minutes shall be ratified by the General Body.
      6. The minutes of the Executive Committee Meeting shall be presented to the General Body and discussion on the minutes of the Executive Committee shall be discussed.
      7. The audited statement of accounts of the Association shall be presented to the General Body and ratified.
      8. The budgets of the Association shall be presented and ratified.
      9. Appointment of Auditors and Legal Consultant (as required) shall be presented to the General Body for ratification.
      10. Names of newly enrolled members in the past year shall be presented and ratified by the General Body.
      11. The Secretary shall then present a synopsis of the activities conducted by the Association to the General Body.
      12. Any other matter with the permission of the Chair shall then be discussed.
      13. The General Body on completion of Agenda shall be dissolved.
      14. The signature of attendance of all Members present and voting shall be recorded before the meeting ends. The proceedings of the meeting are to be minuted (which shall be prepared and circulated to all Members within one month of the meeting) and are not to be recorded electronically / video graphed in any form using any device.
      1. Emergency General Body Meeting: The President may, whenever he/she thinks fit, convene an Emergency General Body Meeting with at least 7 days’ prior notice to Members to discuss matters of extreme importance with prior consent of the Executive Committee. The Notice of the Emergency General Body Meeting can be sent physically or through digital, electronic or virtual medium and shall additionally be put up on the Website of the Association.
      2. Requisitioned General Body Meeting: The President may, whenever he/she thinks fit, upon requisition made in writing and signed by not less than 2/3rd of all existing Life members of the Association, convene a Requisitioned General Body Meeting, at such place he/she decides within a 30 (thirty) days from the receipt of such request / requisition. The requisition must state clearly the reason for calling the Requisitioned General Body Meeting and the request for a Requisitioned General Body Meeting must be addressed to the President. Notice regarding the same shall be put up on the website of the Association. In case of a default by the President to convene the meeting within the stipulated time, the requisitioning members may hold such a meeting, provided no business other than those specified in the notice shall be transacted.
      3. Virtual Meetings: Unless otherwise mentioned, all the above mentioned meetings shall be held in a physical format. However, in exceptional circumstances, in order to ensure participation of most Members, the President may convene any of the above meetings in a virtual format, by using a suitable virtual meeting platform, exclusively subscribed and controlled by the Association.

  6. MANAGEMENT

    1. The management of the Association shall be vested in the Executive Committee, who in addition to the powers by these Rules expressly conferred upon them, may exercise all such powers, and do all such acts and things, as may be exercised or done by the Association, but which are not hereby or law expressly directed or required to be exercised or done by the Association.
    2. Without prejudice to the general powers hereby conferred, the Executive Committee shall have the following powers :
      1. To acquire for the Association by purchase, lease or otherwise, any property, rights or privileges which are Association is entitled to affairs of the Association and to compound and allow time for they may think fit.
      2. To enter into all such negotiations and contracts or rescind and vary them, and execute and do all such acts, deeds and things, in the name and on behalf of the Association, as they may consider expedient for or pertaining to any of the properties, rights and privileges for the purposes of the Association.
      3. To borrow or secure the payment of any sum of money for the purposes of the Association.
      4. To Institute, conduct, defend, compound or abandon any legal proceedings by or against the Association or otherwise concerning the affairs of the Association and to compound and allow time for payment or satisfaction of any debts due and of any claims or demands by or against the Association.
      5. To refer any claim or demands by or against the Association to arbitration and to observe and implement such awards.
      6. To make and give receipts, release and other discharges for money payable to the Association and for the claims and demands of the Association.
      7. To receive donations and any other sum of money and all and any other material, articles, and things due to or intended for the Association.
      8. To incur all necessary expenses for the maintenance and carrying out the objectives and the intention of these Rules and Memorandum of the Association.
      9. To appoint one or more persons, whether or otherwise to constitute a Board or Committee, wherever and whenever necessary; as well as rescind, remove or dissolve any such member, board or committee.
      10. To make, vary and repeal bye-laws pertaining to the regulation of the business of the Association.

  7. Property, Money and Accounts

    1. The property, moveable or immoveable belonging to the Association shall vest in the Executive Committee.
    2. No sale, exchange, mortgage, lease or other transaction of immoveable property belonging to the Association shall be valid unless the President and Secretary execute the document concerned.
    3. Accounts and other investments of the Association shall be operated by any two persons out of the following three viz. Treasurer, President, Secretary.
    4. All acts under 7.1, 7.2 and 7.3 are to be ratified at the Annual General Body Meeting of the Association.

  8. DUTIES OF OFFICE BEARERS

    1. President: Shall preside over the General Body, Executive Committee, and all other official meetings and functions of the Association. The President shall guide the activities of the Association and its aims and objectives. The President may allocate all or any of the powers and duties under this or any other clauses of the constitution to any other office-bearer as he/she may deem fit and necessary for the discharge of his/her duties.
    2. Secretary: Subject to the control and regulation of the Executive Committee, the Secretary shall be responsible for carrying out the directions and decisions of the Executive Committee. In particular, the Secretary shall:
      1. Convene meetings of the Executive Committee whenever necessary or called upon to do so.
      2. Have administrative control over all the affairs of the Association.
      3. Prepare the Annual Report of the Association.
      4. Be in-charge of all the assets of the Association.
      5. Collect all dues of the Association and deposit such amounts into the bank account directly or through Treasurer.
      6. Make disbursements and maintain vouchers.
      7. Perform such duties as are incidental to his/her office.
      8. All notices, communications, letters, memoranda and other papers whether they are acts of the Executive Committee or of the General Body shall be signed or authenticated by the Secretary and when so signed or authenticated shall be conclusive.
    3. Vice Presidents: He/she shall carry out duties as assigned by the President.
    4. Joint Secretaries: They will also be responsible for deciding quorum and also ensuring presence of bonafide members in the General Body and Executive Committee meetings and help the Secretary in all his aforementioned duties.
    5. Treasurer: Shall maintain true accounts of the funds and other assets of the Association and of funds and other assets connected with or in any way controlled by the Association.
    6. Editor-in-Chief of Journal: Shall be responsible for publication of the Journal of the Association. He shall constitute an Editorial Board consisting of Editor-in Chief, four Associate Editors, five Assistant Editors, and an Editorial committee of at least ten members (not more than 50% of whom should be foreign members) and a Consulting / Executive Editor. The Editorial Board is to be ratified by the Executive Committee. Changes in the Editorial Board would need the approval of the Executive Committee.

  9. YOUNG RADIATION ONCOLOGIST’S COMMITTEE (YROC)

    1. To promote a sense of ownership in the Association the YROF shall comprise of Life Members of the Association, below the age of 40 years.
    2. The Vice- Presidents shall be the Joint Governors of the Forum.
    3. One of the nominated members of the Young Radiation Oncologists’ Forum shall be a Co-opted member of the Executive Committee of the Association.
    4. No financial liability shall lie with the Association with respect to YROF.

  10. AMENDMENTS AND REPEAL

    1. Subject to the law in force at the time, the General Body shall have the power to add, vary or repeal any of the provisions contained in the rules. Such additions, variations or repeal can be affected by means of a resolution of which due notice has to be given as per rule and which has been assented to by the vote of at least two-thirds majority of the life-members present and voting at the Annual General Body Meeting.
    2. A life member desirous of bringing forth an amendment (addition, variation or repeal) shall submit the proposed amendment to the Secretary in the form of a resolution, duly proposed by the member desirous of bringing forth the amendment and seconded by at least 10 life members. A copy of the proposed amendment must also be endorsed to the President by the member desirous of bringing forth the amendment. The Secretary shall collect all proposed amendments and put it up for circulation in the Association website.
    3. Proposed amendments shall be taken up for discussion in the Annual General Body meeting, after being mentioned in the agenda. The member desirous of bringing forth the amendment shall be given time to explain the need for the amendment and after discussion, the resolution containing the proposed amendment shall be put to vote. An amendment would be said to have been passed if the resolution has been assented by the vote of at least two-thirds majority of the life members present and voting in the Annual general body meeting.
    4. In the event of a proposed amendment to the constitution being rejected on the floor test, the same shall not be brought before the house for a period of at least three years.

Not with standing anything in this Constitution and Rules, the Law of the Land stand supreme.
Also, the General Body shall be the ultimate authority in all matters.

11. ORATION

Memorial Orations in the name of dignitaries of the past, who have hailed from the state of West Bengal, having memorable contribution in the field of Radiation Oncology, has been a custom.

11.1 The rules governing an Oration shall be framed by the existing Executive Committee and subsequently ratified by the General Body of the Association. At minimum these should include the following :

11.1.1 The application to start a new Oration must be proposed by one life member and seconded by at least three life members.

11.1.2 A requisite lump sum fees needs to paid to the Association upon acceptance of the proposal of the Oration to create a separate corpus, the interests from the proceeds of which shall be sufficient to sustain the expenses of the Oration.

11.1.3 The maximum duration of any given Oration shall be five years from the year of inception.

11.2 The duration for a single Oration shall be for a maximum of 30 minutes.

11.3 The maximum number of Orations at any time in a given Conference shall not exceed two.

11.4 Any Oration/s will be held every year before lunch on the first day of the Annual State Conference of the Association immediately preceding the Inauguration ceremony.

11.5 The Oration/s shall be delivered by eminent Radiation Oncologist/s decided upon by the Scientific Committee of the Conference and invited by the President and Secretary.

11.6 At least one Oration shall be delivered by a Member of the Association of Radiation Oncologists of India.

11.7 The Oration/s shall be chaired by the President and the Secretary of the Association.

11.8 The Orator/s shall be awarded a commemorative plaque for delivering the Oration.

11.9 A person who delivers a particular Oration once shall not be eligible to deliver the same Oration again.

12. AROI WB CHAPTER LIFETIME ACHIEVEMENT AWARD

The Association has started awarding eminent Members with a Lifetime Achievement Award for some time.

12.1 The eligibility criteria for the Award shall be a combination of both substantial contribution to the discipline of Radiation Oncology in India and / or in West Bengal as well as the active participation for the betterment of the Association in the state of West Bengal.

12.2 The Member chosen for the Award shall be nominated by the President and the Secretary of the Association and must agree to accept the award prior to formal declaration of his / her name.

12.3 The Award shall be presented during the Inauguration ceremony of the Annual Conference of the Association and the person must ordinarily be present in person to accept the Award.

12.4 Any person who has been conferred the Award cannot be nominated again.

12.5 The maximum number of awardees at any Conference should not exceed five.

13. AROI WB FIGHT CANCER FELLOWSHIP

13.1 The Association of Radiation Oncologists of India (AROI) West Bengal chapter constituted the AROI WB Fight Cancer Fellowship for Post Graduate Trainees / Junior Residents in Radiation Oncology (currently pursuing MD / DNB in Radiotherapy / Radiation Oncology.) The purpose is to facilitate the specialists to undergo an Observership / Fellowship for a maximum duration of four weeks at any Centre of Excellence in Radiation Oncology inside India.

13.2 The criteria for eligibility for the Fellowship shall be:

13.2.1 Candidates must be pursuing M.D./ D.N.B. in Radiotherapy / Radiation Oncology from an Institution in West Bengal (as on the date of the Interview).

13.2.2 Candidates must be Life Members of AROI and members of AROI-West Bengal Chapter.

13.2.3 There shall be no restrictions on upper age limit.

13.2.4 A short CV mentioning clearly the following points shall be required to be submitted:

[Points 13.2.4.2 to 13.2.4.7 will be preferable but not mandatory]

13.2.4.1 Academic qualifications, current designation and year of passing M.D. / D.N.B.

13.2.4.2 Publications in peer reviewed journals.

13.2.4.3 Presentations (oral / poster) at State / National / International level conferences.

13.2.4.4 Awards received during undergraduate and post graduate training.

13.2.4.5 Courses attended.

13.2.4.6 Special trainings undertaken.

13.2.4.7 Membership of other professional bodies / societies in Oncology.

13.5 Candidates must submit a Letter of Permission on Departmental Letterhead from the Head of the Department where the candidate is presently attached mentioning that the candidate is allowed to sit for the interview and shall be granted requisite leave, upon selection, to complete the Fellowship.

13.6 A Covering letter has to be submitted, signed by the candidate, in addition to the CV, stating the purpose of application for the Fellowship including potential area of work in Radiation Oncology and the Institution where he / she wants to go for the Fellowship.

13.7 The candidates would need to mail scanned soft copies of all the documents to AROI WB Chapter upon notification of the Fellowship. After applications are submitted by mail, they shall be scrutinized and a list of eligible candidates will be posted on the Website. The date, time and venue of the Interview shall also be informed to the selected candidates by mail prior to the date of the Interview.

13.8 The Interview, award and completion of the Fellowship shall be as follows :

13.8.1 The Interview shall be conducted by a three member board constituted by the AROI West Bengal chapter and their decision shall be final and binding.

13.8.2 The interview will be held at a suitable time prior to the annual state conference of the Association every year.

13.8.3 The interview board will comprise the following three members - Chairman Fight Cancer or his / her nominated representative, President and Secretary AROI West Bengal Chapter provided that all of them are qualified Radiation Oncologists.

13.8.4 Candidates are needed to bring originals of their academic certifications, publications, awards, training etc for verification at the time of the interview.

13.8.5 One candidate will be chosen for the fellowship each from current 2nd year PGT / JR and 3rd year PGT / JR each.

13.8.6 The sum of fellowship per year per candidate shall be not less than INR 15000 (Rupees Fifteen Thousand only).

13.8.7 In an exceptional circumstance, if after the interview, it is found that two candidates finish on equal points and the results are tied, the interview board will have the discretion to grant the Fellowship to both the candidates.

13.8.8 In that case the amount of INR 15000 shall be equally divided amongst the two candidates.

13.8.9 The results of the interview will be announced at the Valedictory Session at the end of the subsequent Annual State Conference of the Association.

13.8.10 The Fellowship must be undertaken at an Institution within India in the discipline of Radiation Oncology.

13.8.11 The duration of the Fellowship period shall be four weeks.

13.8.12 The time of availing the Fellowship, once chosen, will be at the discretion of the centre of excellence where the candidate opts to undergo Fellowship taking into consideration the permission of leave granted by the Department where the candidate is attached. However, it will need to be completed, ordinarily, within one calendar year of being awarded but definitely before the next year’s Annual State Conference of the Association.

13.9 Disbursement of Fellowship shall be done as follows:

13.9.1 The candidate has to inform The Association in writing / by mail at least two working weeks prior to the tentative period of Fellowship.

13.9.1.1 The Association shall provide the candidate a maximum sum equal to 50% of the total Fellowship award value as an interim grant for arranging for travel / logistics upon explicit written request for the same.

13.9.2 The Letter of Permission to avail the Observership from the centre of excellence / host institute must accompany this letter / mail. 13.9.3 Upon successful completion of the fellowship, the candidate will need to submit the following documents to AROI WB within two working weeks of completion of the Fellowship:

13.9.3.1 A letter from the competent authorities of the centre of excellence / host institute where the observership was undertaken stipulating that the candidate has completed the scheduled period to the satisfaction of the institute.

13.9.3.2 Necessary travel documents – like rail / air tickets / accommodation details etc.

13.9.3.3 A brief report (2 pages) by the candidate detailing the training undertaken & experience thereof and how it is going to benefit him / her in future clinical practice.

13.9.4 The Association will then disburse the remaining sum along with a commemorative plaque / certificate to the candidate commemorating the successful completion of the fellowship. These will be given out at the next Annual State Conference of the following year (after the year of awarding of the Fellowship) of the Association.

13.9.5 In the event that the Fellowship is not completed in compliance to the rules mentioned above, the candidate shall stand to forfeit the Fellowship and no award shall be made.

13.10 Any change in the eligibility criteria, constitution of the interview board, interview process and awarding of the Fellowship amount awarded and the mode of disbursement shall be allowable by mutual agreement of the AROI WB office bearers (President, Secretary and Treasurer) and Chairman, Fight Cancer and thence passed as a resolution passed through the Executive Committee and ratified by the General Body.

14. AROI WB YOUNG ONCOLOGY FELLOWSHIP

14.1 The Association awards a Fellowship for young specialists in Radiation Oncology (within 5 years of passing MD / DNB in Radiotherapy / Radiation Oncology). The purpose is to facilitate the specialists to undergo an Observership / Fellowship for a maximum duration of four weeks at any Centre of Excellence in Radiation Oncology inside India/ Abroad.

14.2 The criteria for eligibility of the Fellowship shall be :

14.2.1 The candidate must have completed M.D./ D.N.B. in Radiotherapy / Radiation Oncology from an Institution in West Bengal (within the last 5 years as on the date of the Interview).

or

14.2.2 The candidate must have completed M.D./ D.N.B. in Radiotherapy / Radiation Oncology from an Institution in India outside West Bengal (within the last 5 years as on the date of the Interview), provided that he / she is domiciled in West Bengal.

14.2.3 The candidate must be a Life Member of both AROI and AROI-West Bengal Chapter.

14.2.4 There shall be no restrictions on upper age limit.

14.2.5 A short CV mentioning clearly the following points will be required to be submitted :

[Points 14.2.5.2 to 14.2.5.7 will be preferable but not mandatory]

14.2.5.1 Academic qualifications, current designation and year of passing M.D. / D.N.B.

14.2.5.2 Publications in peer reviewed journals.

14.2.5.3 Presentations (oral / poster) at State / National / International level conferences.

14.2.5.4 Awards received during undergraduate and post graduate training.

14.2.5.5 Courses attended.

14.2.5.6 Special trainings undertaken.

14.2.5.7 Membership of other professional bodies / societies in Oncology.

14.6 Candidates must submit a Letter of Permission on Departmental Letterhead from the Head of the Department where the candidate is presently attached mentioning that the candidate is allowed to sit for the interview and shall be granted requisite leave, upon selection, to complete the Fellowship.

14.7 A Covering letter has to be submitted, signed by the candidate, in addition to the CV, stating the purpose of application for the Fellowship including potential area of work in Radiation Oncology and the Institution where he / she wants to go for the Fellowship.

14.8 The candidates would need to mail scanned soft copies of all the documents to AROI WB Chapter upon notification of the Fellowship. After applications are submitted by mail, they shall be scrutinized and a list of eligible candidates will be posted on the Website. The date, time and venue of the Interview shall also be informed to the selected candidates by mail prior to the date of the Interview.

14.9 The Interview, award and completion of the Fellowship shall be as follows :

14.9.1 The Interview shall be conducted by a three member board constituted by the AROI West Bengal chapter and their decision shall be final and binding.

14.9.2 The interview will be held at a suitable time prior to / at the time of the AROI-West Bengal Chapter every year.

14.9.3 The interview board will comprise the following three members - one member from AROI Central Executive Committee (President/Vice President/President Elect/Secretary) OR one eminent senior Radiation Oncologist from an apex academic institute of India outside West Bengal along with the President and Secretary of AROI West Bengal Chapter.

14.9.4 Candidates are needed to bring originals of their academic certifications, publications, awards, training etc for verification at the time of the interview.

14.9.5 One candidate will be chosen for the fellowship.

14.9.6 The sum of fellowship per year per candidate shall be not less than INR 50000 (Rupees Fifty Thousand only).

14.9.7 In an exceptional circumstance, if after the interview, it is found that two candidates finish on equal points and the results are tied, the board will have the discretion to grant the Fellowship to both the candidates.

14.9.8 In that case the amount of INR 50000 shall be equally divided amongst the two candidates.

14.9.9 The results of the interview will be announced at the Valedictory Session at the end of the Annual State Conference of the Association. 14.9.10 The Fellowship must be undertaken at an Institution outside West Bengal, within or outside India only in the discipline of Radiation Oncology.

14.9.11 The duration of the Fellowship period shall be four weeks.

14.9.12 The time of availing the Fellowship, once chosen, will be at the discretion of the centre of excellence where the candidate opts to undergo Fellowship taking into consideration the permission of leave granted by the Department where the candidate is attached. However, it will need to be completed, ordinarily, within one calendar year of being awarded but definitely before the next year’s Annual State Conference of the Association.

14.13 Disbursement of Fellowship shall be done as follows:

14.13.1 The candidate has to inform The Association in writing / by mail at least two working weeks prior to the tentative period of Fellowship.

14.13.1.1 The Association shall provide the candidate a maximum sum equal to 50% of the total Fellowship award value as an interim grant to arrange for travel / logistics upon explicit written request for the same.

14.13.1.2 The Letter of Permission to avail the Observership from the centre of excellence / host institute must accompany this letter / mail. 14.13.2 Upon successful completion of the fellowship, the candidate will need to submit the following documents to AROI WB within two working weeks of completion of the Fellowship:

14.13.2.1 A letter from the competent authorities of the centre of excellence / host institute where the observership was undertaken stipulating that the candidate has completed the scheduled period to the satisfaction of the institute.

14.13.2.2 Necessary travel documents – like rail / air tickets / accommodation details etc.

14.13.2.3 A brief report (2 pages) by the candidate detailing the training undertaken & experience thereof and how it is going to benefit him / her in future clinical practice.

14.13.3 The Association will then disburse the remaining sum along with a commemorative plaque / certificate to the candidate commemorating the successful completion of the fellowship. These will be given out at the next Annual State Conference of the following year (after the year of awarding of the Fellowship) of the Association.

14.13.4 In the event that the Fellowship is not completed in compliance to the rules mentioned above, the candidate shall stand to forfeit the Fellowship and no award shall be made.

14.14 Any change in the eligibility criteria, constitution of the interview board, interview process and awarding of the Fellowship, amount awarded and the mode of disbursement or shall be made by the AROI WB office bearers (President, Secretary and Treasurer) and thence passed as a resolution passed through the Executive Committee and ratified by the General Body.