Constitution

INDIA GREENS PARTY

(India Greens Party is registered with the Election Commission of India under Section 29A of the Representation of the People Act, 1951. Registration Number: 56/476/2018-19/PPS-I, effective from 18/07/2019.)

Registered Office: 104, Vardhman Complex, 1st Floor, LSC, Savita Vihar, Delhi-110092.

National Head Office: Greendham Anandi-Chait, Indra-Balbhadra Parisar, Unchir-Dunktok, Devprayag-Bubakhal State Highway-31, Patty-Idwalsyun, PO-Ghurdauri, Distt-Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand, INDIA. PIN-246194.

Email: contact@indiagreensparty.org Website: https://indiagreensparty.org

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INDIA GREENS PARTY

CONSTITUTION

[Amended, approved, endorsed and adopted unanimously by the National Council of the India Greens Party on 17 November 2021, Day-1 of the Second National Convention (Online) on 17 & 18 November 2021.]

INTRODUCTION

A consistent and prolonged conversation with the Greens in India and beyond resulted in the foundation of the INDIA GREENS PARTY (iGP) — an essentially Green political party with a pan-India perspective, and with allegiance to the Constitution of India.

There has always been a great need to have a pan-India Green party as Green actions in the forms of movements and politics were urgently called for to deal with the burning ecological and environmental issues in the country. To achieve that, it was important to bring Green vision, mission, voices and thoughts together; and to support the ongoing Green movements and build such new movements, and create conditions for Green Politics in the country.

To deliver these desired goals, we created the INDIA GREENS PARTY — to make India clean and green – ecologically and politically; to establish Green Politics; and to create possibilities for Green Ideology, Green Philosophy, and Green Future! 

It was also felt that the existing political parties in the country have done and continue to do nothing to address the vital issues related to: ecological wisdom, sustainability, social justice, non-violence, participatory democracy, and respect for diversity. They appear to have unanimously signed up to a growth model that shall progressively undermine and then destroy the livelihoods of the natural resource dependent majorities.

This lack of realism was enough to bring us together to bring in a paradigm shift and create conditions for Green Politics through the INDIA GREENS PARTY so that those who depend on the land or the forest, on the rains and the rivers, or on the price of food and fuel for their needs have their rights in place for a just, sustainable and decentralised society with a political-economic model that fits within the Green Philosophy.

We can see the impact of unending overconsumption on the environment. Also, we are not secure in the comfort of industrial and economic growth and wealth. The rural areas remain placed at risk by the capricious agricultural economy.

We actually need a vision for the landscapes and their ecological usage. We need a vision to democratise our land use and find a sustainable socio-economic vision.

As a result, the seeds of the INDIA GREENS PARTY were sown on 2 July 2017 in a modest meeting in New Delhi, in which 44 people from 17 states/union territories including Ms Irom Sharmila Chanu, an eminent civil rights and political activist from the northeastern state of Manipur, took part and agreed that there was an urgent need for a national Green Party in India in the era of globalisation, liberalisation, marketisation, global warming and climate crisis. These 44 people acknowledged that a few attempts were made in the past to found a pan-India Green Party, but could not fructify. 

In a nutshell, there has been a strong and unflinching desire to found a Green Party in India – a country generous to evolve and develop as one of the largest democracies.

The INDIA GREENS PARTY was visualised to respond to the challenges mentioned above, and engage people, in the fields and in the forests, of the country in a political conversation that has certain objectives to achieve — ecological wisdom, sustainability, social justice, non-violence, participatory democracy and respect for diversity — at the pan-India level. 

Such a conversation, when built in all parts of the country, shall demonstrate that a Green radical transformation towards a just and sustainable society is possible.

The main constituency of the INDIA GREENS PARTY consists of those people who are on the edge already, those who depend on the agricultural land or the forest, those who depend on the rains and the rivers, or those who depend on the price of food and fuel for their day-to-day needs.

This constituency also consists of the people who are the best placed to defend rights not only to nature but of nature, within a more just, sustainable and decentralised society with a political-economic model that fits within this.

Now, the build-up must be towards a comprehensive ecological movement that brings together social movements which are already fighting for the interests of those set to be further dispossessed. 

It is only upon this ground that an effective pan-India Green political party and the movement can evolve and thrive.

In a nutshell, bringing into shape a pan-India Green Party is a huge undertaking!

FOUNDATION OF THE INDIA GREENS PARTY

The INDIA GREENS PARTY held its first National Convention and first National Council meeting on 17-18 November 2018 at Garhwal Bhavan in New Delhi, India to endorse and adopt its Preamble, Constitution, Core Principles, Policies and Ideology based on the guidelines and principles of the Global Greens Charter and Green Philosophy. In fact, the Party came into shape on the second day of its two-day Foundation National Convention on 18 November 2018 with a pan-India perspective. On the concluding day, 18 November 2018, the party unanimously elected its first National Executive Committee (NEC) headed by Mr Suresh Nautiyal, Founding President. The first and foremost thing was to express the Party’s commitment and adherence to the values and principles of the Global Greens Charter.

Therefore, the INDIA GREENS PARTY shall celebrate 18th of November as its Foundation Day every year.

Now, the INDIA GREENS PARTY is getting ready to make India ecologically and politically clean and green by following the tenets – Future is Green and Green is future; and, Planet, People and Peace over Profit! 

INDEBTEDNESS

Founder, Patron & Mentor of India Greens Party: The India Greens Party shall always recognise and remember Mr Suresh Nautiyal as the Founder, Patron & Mentor of the India Greens Party. He shall always have the role and responsibility as a Guardian and Protector of the Party and its movable and immovable assets and properties, both tangible and intangible, interests, protocols, database, credentials, etc, and as long as he is able to do so. He shall have all the necessary rights to do the same. The Party shall seek guidance, advice, support, intellectual input and feedback from the architect of the Party from time-to-time. He shall deserve all the respect and praise for his historically invaluable work for the promotion of the Party and Green Politics. The Party shall always value his words, advice, suggestions and guidance. Besides, he shall have a special say in extraordinary circumstances.

Others who played vital roles in building the Party: Others, those who played crucial and catalytic roles in building the party and remained faithful to the Founder and the party and never did anything against the same shall only be recognised and remembered as part of the Founding Team and Pillars of the Party. Several people were solidly behind the idea of a pan-India Green party in the country, almost from the beginning. The Party shall also recognise and remember all those who attended the Party’s initiation meeting on 2 July 2017 in New Delhi; and those who attended the 17-18 November 2018 Founding National Convention to formalise, constitutionalise and institutionalise the India Greens Party. In a nutshell, the Party expresses its gratitude to all these people, to the people of the country, and to the Election Commission of India, for accepting the iGP as a political party. The party also remains indebted to the international Green leaders who always encouraged formation of a pan-India Green party in India!

PREAMBLE

We; as citizens of India and Earth, and members of the INDIA GREENS PARTY that has allegiance to the Constitution of India established by law and principles of Socialism, Secularism and Democracy; shall endeavour to maintain Sovereignty, Unity and Integrity of India with a scientific temperament. 

We also commit to the ideals, principles and philosophy of the Global Greens Charter —

United in our awareness that we depend on the Earth’s vitality, diversity and beauty, and that it is our responsibility to pass them on, undiminished or even improved, to the next generation;

Recognising that the dominant patterns of human production and consumption, based on the dogma of economic growth at any cost and the excessive and wasteful use of natural resources without considering Earth’s carrying capacity, are causing extreme deterioration in the environment and a massive extinction of species;

Acknowledging that injustice, racism, poverty, ignorance, corruption, crime and violence, armed conflict and the search for maximum short-term profit are causing widespread human suffering;

Accepting that developed countries through their pursuit of economic and political goals have contributed to the degradation of the environment and of human dignity;

Understanding that many of the country’s people have been impoverished by the long centuries of colonisation and exploitation, creating an ecological debt owed by the rich nations to those that have been impoverished;

Committed to closing the gap between rich and poor and building a citizenship based on equal rights for all individuals in all spheres of social, economic, political and cultural life;

Recognising that without equality between men and women, no real democracy can be achieved;

Concerned for the dignity of humanity and the value of cultural heritage;

Recognising the rights of indigenous people and their contribution to the common heritage, as well as the right of all minorities and oppressed peoples to their culture, religion, economic and cultural life;

Convinced that cooperation rather than competition is a prerequisite for ensuring the guarantee of such human rights as nutritious food, comfortable shelter, health, education, fair labour, free speech, clean air, potable water and an unspoilt natural environment;

Recognising that the environment ignores borders between countries;

Building on the Party’s Ideology, Preamble, Principles and Policies and Philosophy based on the Global Greens Charter;

Assert the need for fundamental changes in people’s attitudes, values, and ways of producing and living;

Declare that the new millennium provides a defining point to begin that transformation;

Resolve to promote a comprehensive concept of sustainability which protects and restores the integrity of the ecosystems, with special concern for biodiversity and the natural processes that sustain life, acknowledges the interrelatedness of all ecological, social and economic processes, balances individual interests with the common good, harmonises freedom with responsibility, welcomes diversity within unity, reconciles short term objectives with long term goals, ensures that future generations have the same right as the present generation to natural and cultural benefits;

Affirm our responsibility to one another, to the greater community of life, and to future generations;

Commit ourselves as Green Party and political movement to implement these interrelated principles and to create a global partnership in support of their fulfilment;

And,

Commit ourselves to social justice and equal opportunity, non-violence, decentralisation, community-based economics, feminism, respect for diversity, personal and global responsibility, future focus, and sustainability.

PARTY’S MEMORANDUM/ RULES, BYE-LAWS AND CONSTITUTION AS REQUIRED UNDER SUB-SECTION (5) OF SECTION 29A OF THE REPRESENTATION OF THE PEOPLE ACT, 1951.

ARTICLE-I: NAME OF THE PARTY

  1. FOUNDATION OF THE PARTY: The India Greens Party took shape on the second day of its two-day foundation or first National Convention and first National Council meeting on 18 November 2018. On this day, at Garhwal Bhavan in New Delhi, the Party with a pan-India perspective came into existence as INDIA GREENS PARTY. The INDIA GREENS PARTY shall celebrate 18th of November as its Foundation Day every year. 
  2. NAME OF THE PARTY: The Party, established on 18/11/2018 (eighteenth of November 2018) by its first National Council at its first National Convention at Garhwal Bhavan, New Delhi, shall be known as INDIA GREENS PARTY.
  3. PARTY’S REGISTERED OFFICE: Party’s Registered Office shall be established at any place in India. Presently, Party’s Registered Office is at: 104 Vardhman Complex, 1st Floor, LSC, Savita Vihar, Delhi-110092. However, the Party on 8 November 2021 requested the Election Commission of India (ECI) to record the address of the Party’s Registered Office as — Greendham Anandi-Chait, Indra-Balbhadra Parisar, Unchir-Dunktok on State Highway-31, PO-Ghurdauri, Distt-Pauri Garhwal, Uttarakhand. PIN-246194. The Party has already adopted this address/place as its National Head Office (NHO).
  4. INTERNAL DEMOCRACY: Abiding by its six Core Principles or Objectives of the Party (ecological wisdom, social justice, participatory democracy, non-violence, sustainability and respect for diversity), the INDIA GREENS PARTY, as political organisation, shall essentially maintain internal democracy and run its programmes, campaigns, webinars, actions and activities by following the principle of collective leadership. There shall be internal democracy at all levels in the Party. The decision-making processes shall remain democratic, transparent, peaceful and based on majority vote.
  5. DECISION-MAKING PROCESS: The decision-making process in the representative bodies of the Party at all levels shall be guided by minimum 51 percent votes (½+1) majority views/principle for general functioning and two-thirds (2/3) majority/votes for structural changes and decision reversals. Therefore, all decisions shall be taken at all levels based on the above principles.
  6. NON-VIOLENCE AND PEACE: The Party shall not, in any manner, promote or instigate violence or participate in violence. The Party believes absolutely in peace and non-violence and in fact these values are among the Core Principles of the Party.
  7. PARTICIPATION IN ELECTIONS: The Party shall contest an election conducted by the Election Commission of India (ECI) within five (5) years of its registration, and thereafter also continue to contest. If the Party does not contest elections continuously for six years, the Party shall be taken off the list of the registered parties.
  8. PROCESS OF ELECTIONS IN THE PARTY: Election process to various offices of the Party shall be democratic and the process as defined in the election process document created by the parliamentary board. No office in the Party shall be hereditary or held permanently except the office of Founder, Patron & and Mentor. Every time, there shall be two Co-Presidents — Female and any other gender including Male from top to bottom levels of the Party.

ARTICLE-II: OBJECTIVES OF THE PARTY

OBJECTIVES OF THE PARTY: In the first National Convention, the first and foremost thing was to express Party’s commitment and adherence to the values and principles of the Global Greens Charter. The Objectives of the Party are based on the six Core Principles of the Global Greens Charter and of the Party. They are:

  1. ECOLOGICAL WISDOM: The INDIA GREENS PARTY acknowledges that human beings are part of the natural world and it respects the specific values of all forms of life, including non-human species. It acknowledges the wisdom of the indigenous peoples of the world, as custodians of the land and its resources. The Party acknowledges that human society depends on the ecological resources of the planet, and must ensure the integrity of ecosystems and preserve biodiversity and the resilience of life supporting systems.
  2. SOCIAL JUSTICE: The INDIA GREENS PARTY asserts that the key to social justice is the equitable distribution of social and natural resources, both locally and globally, to meet basic human needs unconditionally, and to ensure that all citizens have full opportunities for personal and social development. It declares that there is no social justice without environmental justice, and no environmental justice without social justice.
  3. PARTICIPATORY DEMOCRACY: The INDIA GREENS PARTY strives for a democracy in which all citizens have the right to express their views, and are able to directly participate in the environmental, economic, social and political decisions which affect their lives; so that power and responsibility are concentrated in local and regional communities, and devolved only where essential to higher tiers of governance.
  4. NON-VIOLENCE: The INDIA GREENS PARTY declares its commitment to nonviolence and strives for a culture of peace and cooperation between states, inside societies and between individuals, as the basis of global security. The Party believes that security should not rest mainly on military strength but on cooperation, sound economic and social development, environmental safety, and respect for human rights.
  5. SUSTAINABILITY: The INDIA GREENS PARTY recognises the limited scope for the material expansion of human society within the biosphere, and the need to maintain biodiversity through sustainable use of renewable resources and responsible use of non-renewable resources. The Party believes that to achieve sustainability, and in order to provide for the needs of present and future generations within the finite resources of the earth, continuing growth in global consumption, population and material inequity must be halted and reversed. The INDIA GREENS PARTY recognises that sustainability shall not be possible as long as poverty persists.
  6. RESPECT FOR DIVERSITY: The INDIA GREENS PARTY honours cultural, linguistic, ethnic, sexual, religious and spiritual diversity within the context of individual responsibility toward all beings. The Party defends the right of all persons, without discrimination, to an environment supportive of their dignity, bodily health, and spiritual well-being. It promotes the building of respectful, positive and 
  7. responsible relationships across lines of division in the spirit of a multicultural society.

ARTICLE-III: MEMBERSHIP OF THE PARTY

1.MEMBERSHIP: Only Indian citizens who have attained the age of 18 years shall be eligible to be members of the Party. And, there shall not be any restriction on the membership of the Party. Also, there shall be no discrimination based on religion, belief, faith, sect, creed, caste, colour, race, ethnicity, geographical region, gender, sexual orientation, dialect, language, lifestyle including food habit, background, category, etc. However, the prospective member shall have allegiance to the Party’s Constitution, Ideology, Philosophy, Political Thoughts, Policies, Pledges, Ideas, Programmes, Campaigns, Activities and Leadership, and trust in them, failing which the person shall not be eligible for the membership. Membership shall be of three types — Primary, Active and Lifetime.

a. Primary Membership: A Primary Member shall be expected to attend the grassroots level meetings. If a Primary Member is absent from the Party activities for a period of six months, then the respective village/ward office bearer(s) of the Party shall check the authenticity of the Membership granted and recommend appropriate action to be taken by the village/ward Committee.

b. Active Membership: An Active Member has to ensure presence of the Primary Members at the grassroots (village, ward, block) level and other meetings. Only Active Members shall be eligible to hold offices at any level. An Active Member shall have to enrol at least 10 new Primary Members every two years.

c.Lifetime Membership: Lifetime Membership is a restricted category. Lifetime Membership application is to be scrutinised by the Membership Committee and recommended to the PAC for a final decision. The Lifetime Membership means (a) till the life of the Member, or (b) till the life of the Party — and, whichever is earlier. Primary Members and Active Members shall be eligible to apply for the Lifetime Membership. A Lifetime Member shall have all the rights of an Active Member. All the provisions of the Party Constitution, Rules, Protocols, Guidelines, Pledges, etc, shall apply on the Lifetime Member as well. There shall be no refund of Lifetime Membership Fee in case a Lifetime Member is expelled from the Party.

2. MEMBERSHIP FEE: The Membership Fee in all the categories shall be revised from time-to-time by the National Council in the Annual General Meeting or in the National Convention. The present Membership Fee structure is as follows:

  1. One-time Primary Membership Fee: Rs 200.
  2. Active Membership Fee for a two-year term: Rs 300.
  3. Monthly Levy on National Office bearers except National Executive Members and National Council Members: Rs 300.
  4. Two-year term Levy on the National Executive Members/National Council Members: Rs 1,000.
  5. Monthly Levy on PAC Members: Rs 1,000 onwards.

Notes:

  1. At the time of enrolling as a Primary Member, one shall pay Rs 200 only. This fee will be for lifetime, which means till the life of the Member, or till the life of the Party.
  2. To be an Active Member, one has to pay an additional amount of Rs 300 after their request to be upgraded as Active Member is approved by the National Membership Committee following a defined procedure.
  3. Elevation to Active Membership from Primary Membership shall be based on any of the following conditions:
    1. After one month of enrolling as a Primary Member, the state committee can recommend a Primary Member to be an Active member to the National Membership Committee based on a background check and assessment of the person’s alignment with the party’s policies and values, or
    2. The National Membership Committee on its own can grant Active Membership to a Primary Member based on a background check and assessment of the person’s alignment with the party’s policies and values after completion of three months as a Primary Member, or,
    3. A Primary Member can request the state committee to process their request after the Primary Member has completed six month as a Primary Member – meaning the state committee shall process the request based on a background check and assessment of the person’s alignment with the party’s policies and values.
  4. Active Membership is renewable every two years and before the election of the next National Executive Committee.
  5. Life Membership fee shall be Rs 10,000 and one-time. A Lifetime Member need not pay any renewal fee at the end of the two-year tenure of the National Executive Committee.
  6. The Membership fee against any category of Membership preferably be transferred to or deposited into the Party’s designated bank account(s).
  7. Any type of Membership fee shall not be refunded in any case or circumstance.
  8. In extraordinary circumstances, the Membership Fee both Primary and Active, and Levy can be waived off partly or completely by the PAC.
  9. Those Active Members’ Membership shall be suspended who do not pay their Membership fee for two years every time before the National Convention offline or online; and not allowed to vote in the National Convention/National Council decisions/elections if they happen to be the National Council Members as well.

     3. USE OF MEMBERSHIP FEE:

  1. Fifty percent of the Membership fee collected by the central treasury through bank transfers/deposits shall be returned to the concerned state/union territory unit.
  2. Fifty percent of the amount received by the state/union territory unit from the central treasury shall be shared with the district unit by the state/union territory unit for their own activities, programmes and promotion.
  3. In case, the Membership fee is collected by a grassroots unit, 25 percent of it shall be transferred to the district unit, 25 percent to the state unit and 50 percent to the central treasury.
  4. The district unit shall share 50 percent of the Membership fee amount with the concerned block unit.
  5. A block level unit shall take care of the activities at the ward and village levels. The municipal ward/village level unit may ask the district or any other higher committee for financial support.

 4.   PREPARATION OF ROLLS OF MEMBERS: All units of the Party – from village/ward to the national level – shall keep records and rolls of their Members. The Party units shall do the following:

  1. All Party units from village/municipal ward level to the National Council (Party NHO/ Secretariat) level shall keep records and rolls of their Members and the Office Bearers and Executive Committee Members, and share one copy with the NHO.
  2. All units shall provide the details of their records and rolls to the next higher unit of the Party. This means the block unit shall have records and rolls of all the villages/municipal wards under it; all the district units shall have the records and rolls of all the blocks under them; all the states shall have records and rolls of the districts of the state; and the national head office (NHO) Secretariat shall have the records and rolls of all the villages/ municipal wards, blocks, and states/union territories.
  3. The Party NHO/Secretariat shall issue photo ID cards to all its members – Primary, Active and Lifetime. No other units shall have the authority to issue the Party ID cards.
  4. The Party Membership lists shall be revised every year at least one month before the Annual General Meeting (AGM) or National Convention. All units shall send the revised Membership lists to their higher units – hard copy or through email.

5.     ACTION AGAINST ERRING MEMBERS: If a Member – Primary, Active or Lifetime — is found engaged in the anti-Party activities, an appropriate action shall be taken against the member by a competent authority and as per the constitution, rules and protocols of the Party.

ARTICLE IV: ORGANS OF THE PARTY

ORGANISATIONAL STRUCTURE

 1.     NATIONAL COUNCIL: 

  1. National Council shall be the highest body of the Party organisation having the authority to negate, modify, revise, reject and enhance any decision of the Party taken at any level including that of the Executive Board, the Political Affairs Committee and the National Executive Committee or AGM between two National Conventions.
  2. The National Council shall be a recurring body and indissoluble. Each state/union territory shall replace or repeat its Delegates to the National Council every two years. The continuity of the National Council, therefore, shall always remain like Rajya Sahba of Indian Parliament. In other words, the National Council shall be a continuous body at any point of time.
  3. The National Council meetings shall be held during the National Conventions only.
  4. The National Council shall have the powers to change, alter, modify or enhance the Party Constitution.
  5. The National Council, in emergent and urgent situations, shall have the right to take a decision with one-third vote to call a National Convention offline/online to process the amendments in the Party Constitution, or to conduct any other urgent work.
  6. The Quorum for the National Council meeting/National Convention shall be at least 51% of the existing National Council Members.
  7. The National Council shall consist of Delegates from all state/union territory units of the Party.
  8. The National Council shall have as many members as the Council members themselves want to have in it.
  9. No state/union territory unit of the party shall send more than 30 Delegates to the National Council for a period of two years. The minimum number of Delegates a state/union territory can send to the National Council shall be 10. Gender balance shall be the norm.
  10. The state/union territory units shall replace/repeat their Delegates to the national Council every two years.
  11. The National Council eventually shall have at least 50 per cent seats for women.
  12. National Council Members shall have the right to vote to elect the National Executive Committee.
  13. The National Council shall elect its new National Executive Committee for a period stipulated in the Party Constitution which is every two years for now.
  14. Only National Council members shall be eligible to contest in the National Executive Committee elections.

2. NATIONAL EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE:

  1. The National Executive Committee shall be elected by the National Council in its National Convention as per the Party Constitution.
  2. The National Executive Committee eventually shall have at least 50 per cent seats for the women.
  3. The National Executive Committee shall have maximum 151 members including the National Office Bearers, the Executive Board and Political Affairs Committee (PAC) Members.
  4. The National Executive Committee shall be elected by the National Council in the National Convention for a period of two years. 

3. NATIONAL CONVENTION:

  1. The National Convention (NC) shall be held every two years  — offline or online – in the month of November, closer to the Foundation Day.
  2. The National Convention shall take place in a different state every time if it is offline. This means, two consecutive offline National Conventions shall not take place in the same state/union territory.
  3. All Primary Members, Active Members, Lifetime Members, National Executive Committee Members, and National Council Members shall take part in the National Convention. However, the voting rights shall remain with the National Council Members only.
  4. Only the National Council Members shall vote to elect the new National Executive Committee for two years.
  5. Members of the general public shall be eligible to take part in the National Conventions of the Party in the inaugural plenaries/sessions only.

4. ANNUAL GENERAL MEETING:

  1. The Annual General Meeting (AGM) shall take place every year in the month of November offline or online, closer to the iGP Foundation Day, in a different state every time if offline, or online.
  2. This means, two consecutive offline AGMs shall not take place in the same state. The idea is to take Green Politics all over the country.
  3. All Primary Members, Active Members, Lifetime Members, National Executive Members and National Council Members of the Party shall be eligible to take part in the AGM. However, the voting rights shall remain with the National Executive Committee Members only.
  4. All Party members shall be welcome to attend the AGM offline/online; but in case of voting on any issue, only the National Executive Committee Members shall be authorised to cast their votes.
  5. Members of the general public shall be eligible to take part in the plenaries of the AGM of the Party.

5.   EXECUTIVE BOARD:

  1. There shall be a 9-Member Executive Board consisting of Co-Presidents, Secretary-General, Chief Spokesperson, one of the two International Co-Secretaries, Convener IT Committee, Treasurer, Convener of iGPWN, and Convener of iYG Committee to take decisions between two PAC meetings.
  2. All the decisions of the Executive Board shall be approved, endorsed and adopted by the PAC.
  3. The PAC shall have the authority to reject or make amendments to the decisions taken by the Executive Board.
  4. The Executive Board shall essentially work as an empowered Sub-Committee of the PAC.
  5. The Executive Board meetings shall be convened as and when required to take urgent decisions.

6.   POLITICAL AFFAIRS COMMITTEE:  

  1. Political Affairs Committee (PAC), headed by one of the two Co-Presidents, shall be the apex policy and decision-making body of the Party in between the two Annual General Meetings or two National Conventions.
  2. The PAC shall have a maximum of 21 members.
  3. The PAC shall have at least 50 per cent seats for women.
  4. The PAC shall automatically include the National Co-Presidents, Secretary-General, Chief Spokesperson, National Treasurer, one of the two International Co-Secretaries, Convener IT Committee, iGPWN Convener, and iYG Convener.
  5. The National Council shall elect at least another five members in the National Convention for PAC.
  6. Rest of the seven members shall be nominated by the Co-Presidents in agreement with the PAC.
  7. At least 11 Members shall constitute quorum for a PAC meeting.
  8. The PAC shall take decisions with two-thirds majority of the quorum. However, unanimous decisions shall be welcome.
  9. If required, PAC shall unanimously decide to allow the Co-Presidents to have an extra vote to make a decision in case of tie ups. For this the Co-Presidents shall create unanimity. If the matter is not resolved, the issue(s) shall be taken up for consideration in the next PAC meetings.
  10. The PAC shall have the authority and powers to take all the decisions in Party’s interest including expulsion of a member.
  11. In the absence of the Co-Presidents, Vice-Presidents in order of seniority shall preside over the PAC meetings.
  12. The PAC shall meet at least once every month in person or online or over phone calls, or through other applications.
  13. In the absence of quorum, the attending PAC members shall postpone the meeting for 10 minutes and then resume even without a quorum. However, for taking decision of such postponement, presence of at least seven members of the PAC shall be necessary.
  14. The decisions taken in the absence of quorum shall be approved, endorsed and adopted or rejected in the next PAC meeting.
  15. All the decisions taken by the PAC meeting shall be approved, endorsed and adopted in the next meeting with the 2/3rd majority vote of the quorum.
  16. Proceedings of all meetings of the PAC shall be recorded, documented and circulated among the National Executive and National Council Members and the State Presidents, who in turn shall circulate the minutes with the district and other levels of the Party.
  17. In normal conditions, only the National Council shall have the powers to change, alter, modify or enhance the Party Constitution. However, in emergent and urgent situations, the PAC shall take a two-thirds majority decision to call a National Convention offline or online to process the amendments in the Party Constitution.
  18. Except certain exceptions, all the PAC Members shall give monthly Levy to the Party so that the basic expenses are met without much difficulty. The quantum of the monthly Levy shall be fixed or revised by the PAC from time-to-time.
  19. All the state/union territory units shall send their monthly reports to the PAC in time.

7.    NATIONAL COMMITTEES:

  1. The PAC of the Party shall constitute National Committees including the Parliamentary Board, Women’s Network, India Young Greens, etc.
  2. Parliamentary Board under the leadership of a PAC Members, shall be responsible for selection of the Party’s candidates for contesting elections of Lok Sabha, Rajya Sabha, State’s Legislative Assembly and local bodies. The PAC shall have a final decision on the selection of candidate(s) for elections at any level.
  3. Heads of such Committees shall be appointed by the Party Co-Presidents in consultation with the PAC.
  4. Only Active Members shall be included as Members in these Committees.
  5. All Committees and Networks shall have max 5 members, and any appointments shall be valid for three months at least unless the committee requests for a change of committee membership.
  6. Each Committee shall create its terms of reference (ToR) for smooth functioning. The ToRs shall not be part of the Party Constitution as they may change from time-to-time.
  7. All committees can form teams and add as many contributing, active participants, consultants, experts, etc, in the committees to help the Committee members with brainstorming, documentation, executing the Committee and field work, etc, though the participants shall not be considered part of the quorum.
  8. Observer access to any committee meeting shall be allowed only if the observer has something to contribute and after the permission from the respective Committee.
  9. It is the responsibility of the Committee to record all meetings — to the Cloud only. Local recordings are not permitted without valid reasons and permission from the IT Committee.
  10. There shall be no limit on the number of National Committees. The PAC of the Party shall form Special Committees from time-to-time to analyse diverse issues and to study contemporary matters in order to make Party’s viewpoint more apt and precise.

8.   NATIONAL COMMITTEES GROUP:

  1. The National Committees shall have a National Committees Group (NCG) at the national level.
  2. The NCG shall meet once every month offline or online.
  3. In its monthly meetings, all the National Committees including the Parliamentary Board, Women’s Network and India Young Greens Committee shall table their monthly work progress reports.
  4. One of the Co-Presidents shall be the Convener of the NCG.
  5. Only Conveners of the National Committees shall be Co-Convener and Members of the NCG.
  6. If the NCG Convener happens to be a female,  the Co-Convener shall be a male/other gender, or vice versa.
  7. The NCG Convener shall brief the PAC about its meetings and work progress.
  8. If there are issues related to the National Committees, the NCG shall try to find a solution/resolution itself.
  9. Only critical matters which the NCG is not able to solve/resolve/handle shall escalate up to the PAC for resolution.

9.     YOUTH ORGANISATIONS:

  1. The PAC of the Party shall form the youth organisations at the national level.
  2. At the state, district, block, municipal ward and village levels, the youth organisations shall be formed by the respective Councils.
  3. The name of such organisations shall be as: Mundka Village Young Greens, Rohini Ward-1 Young Greens, Kot Block Young Greens, Darjeeling District Young Greens, Karnataka State Young Greens.
  4. To educate the students and the youth in the Green ideology, principles, policies and programmes, workshops and seminars shall be organised from time to time.
  5. The structure of these youth organisations shall be similar to the Party organisation, and only Active Members of the party shall be included in the youth organisations.

 10.     STUDENT ORGANISATIONS:

  1. The PAC of the Party shall form its student organisations in the colleges and the universities of the country. The name of such organisations shall be like: Jesus & Mary College Greens, Pondicherry University Greens, etc.
  2. To educate the young students in the Green ideology, principles, policies and programmes, workshops and seminars shall be organised from time to time. In these organisations, membership fee for two years shall be Rs 100 only.
  3. The structure of these student organisations shall be similar to the Party organisation.
  4. Only Active Members of the Party shall be made part of the student organisations.

 11.  MASS ORGANISATIONS:

  1. The PAC of the Party shall constitute mass organisations for all marginalised and deprived groups of society for example: unorganised labour force in all areas including agriculture and industrial; government servants and daily wagers.
  2. The Party shall endeavour to mould the struggles of the marginalised and deprived sections into movements in order to win justice for them.
  3. The names of such organisations shall be like Unemployed Green Youth Association, Green Khetihar Shramik Manch, ABC Green Workers Union, etc, etc.
  4. One-time Membership fee of all mass organisations shall be Rs 100 only and to be used by themselves for their cause.
  5. Members of the mass organisations shall be given responsibilities in the Party’s mainstream bodies only after they get the Active Membership of the Party.

 12.  SUPPORT GROUPS:

  1. The PAC of the Party shall form support groups for those persons not willing to join active politics but ready to support the Green Politics and the Party from outside.
  2. These groups shall be organised at various levels – from grassroots to the national level. Party office bearers shall be given responsibility to conduct these groups – formal or informal.

ARTICLE V: PARTY UNITS, DELEGATES & OFFICE BEARERS OF THE PARTY

1. UNITS: The Party shall have the following units:

  1. Village/ Municipal Ward Level: Village/ Municipal Ward Affairs Committee, Village/Municipal Ward Executive Committee, and Village/ Municipal Ward Council.
  2. Block Level: Block Affairs Committee, Block Executive Committee, and Block Council.
  3. District Level: District Affairs Committee, District Executive Committee, and District Council.
  4. State Level: State Affairs Committee, State Executive Committee, and State Council.
  5. Village to State Level: Village/ Municipal Ward Affairs Committee, Block Affairs Committee, District Affairs Committee, and State Affairs Committee shall be on the pattern of the Political Affairs Committee at the national level; but with a maximum number of five persons (two females and three other genders including males). In the Executive Committees at all these levels the maximum number of Members shall be not more than 21. Gender balance is to be maintained at these levels as well.
  6. National Level: National Committees Group, Executive Board, Political Affairs Committee, National Executive Committee, and National Council. 

     2.  COUNCILS AT VILLAGE/ MUNICIPAL WARD, BLOCK, STATE LEVEL: All the Councils – Village/Municipal Ward, Block, State – shall be on the pattern of the National Council. The Councils at these levels shall have as many members as the relevant unit wants to have. 

 3. DELEGATES: The Party Delegates at the various levels shall be elected in the following manners:

  1. The Village/Municipal Ward Council shall send maximum two (2) elected Delegates (one female and one other gender) to the Block Council.
  2. The Block Council shall send maximum four (4) elected Delegates (two females and two other genders) to the District Council.
  3. The District Council shall send maximum eight (8) elected Delegates (four females and four other genders) to the State Council.
  4. The State Council shall send a maximum sixteen (16) elected Delegates (eight females and eight other genders) to the National Council. All these Delegates shall be part of the National Council.
  5. Other Delegates to the National Council shall be appointed by the PAC of the Party as and when required.
  6. All Party MPs, MLAs, MLCs, Mayors, etc, shall automatically be the members of the National Council.
  7. The National Council shall elect the National Executive Committee for a period of two years.
  8. The National Executive shall consist of minimum 50 per cent women. This means, out of 101, there shall be 51 women National Executive Members.
  9. The idea to elect the Party bodies at the various levels in this manner is to make the organisation more and more democratic and gender sensitive. Other genders include the male gender as well.

      4.     OFFICE-BEARERS:

  1. Office-bearers shall be nominated/ selected/ elected at various levels to run the Party’s affairs in tune with its principles and ideals.
  2. While adhering to the principles of equality at social, economic, political and cultural levels; appropriate representation shall be ensured in the Party organisation at various levels to the marginalised and deprived classes including the women, LGBTQI+, minorities and the youth.
  3. For aforementioned categories, special units shall also be established.
  4. All relevant and prevalent laws of the land shall be followed in this regard.

5. ELIGIBILITY FOR BEING AN OFFICE-BEARER: The Party Office Bearers shall be appointed in the following manner.

  1. Only Active Members shall be eligible to hold any role in the Party organisation.
  2. Any Active Member being nominated for any role in the Party organisation must have at least one year old Active Membership. Only PAC/NEC/NC can relax this condition.
  3. If the Active Members wish to nominate themselves for the  National Executive, they shall require recommendation from  their respective state units, or they can directly be nominated by the National Council / National Executive Committee / Political Affairs Committee.

      6.  DUTIES AND POWERS OF THE OFFICE-BEARERS:  Duties and powers of all office-bearers of the Party shall be determined and defined guided by the Party Constitution, its Rules and Guidelines. 

  1. All office-bearers shall execute their respective duties, shall have allegiance to the Party’s Constitution and leadership.
  2. They shall use the authority vested upon them by the Party not for their personal gains but in the interest of the Party and the people.
  3. The powers of different Office Bearers have been elaborated in the following clauses.

     7. NOMINATED OFFICE BEARERS: Not more than 1/3rd of the Office Bearers shall be nominated at any level of the Party organisation.

8. NATIONAL CO-PRESIDENTS:

  1. The Party shall have two National Co-Presidents every time — one Female and one any other gender including Male. The Co-Presidents shall be unanimously or consensually chosen or elected through a democratic process by the National Council in the National Convention every two years.
  2. If the Co-Presidents cannot be elected or chosen unanimously, they shall be elected by a democratic secret ballot, and such an election to be conducted by a Returning Officer chosen by the National Council.
  3. The Co-Presidents shall have equal powers, duties and responsibilities every time or during every tenure.
  4. The Co-Presidents shall evolve consensus on issues first, and then bring them to the PAC for consideration.
  5. The Co-Presidents shall prepare the agenda for the PAC meetings collectively, and allow other PAC Members to contribute to the meeting agenda.
  6. The Co-Presidents collectively shall be vested with the authority to assign any responsibility to any office-bearer or any Active Member of the Party.
  7. Candidates in their own categories (Female and Male/ Other) getting majority votes (51%) shall be declared as elected Co-Presidents by the Returning Officer.
  8. If a Presidential candidate does not get at least 51% of the polled votes, she/he shall have to face the voting once again.
  9. In case of failure to get a minimum 51% of the polled votes, then another round of secret ballot shall be resorted to and the candidate obtaining the highest number of votes in their category shall be declared as Co-Presidents by the Returning Officer.
  10. The contenders for the Co-Presidents’ roles must have been national office-bearers or members of the PAC for a minimum period of one year.
  11. The persons must not have been implicated in any corrupt practice or involved in any anti-Party activity.
  12. The Co-Presidents shall enjoy special rights in special circumstances. However, the Co-Presidents shall have to justify their action(s) in the next PAC/Annual General Meeting (AGM) or National Convention. The PAC/ National Executive/ National Council/ National Convention may change the decisions taken by the Co-Presidents in special circumstances by two-thirds majority.
  13. The Co-Presidents collectively may nominate any of the Vice-Presidents to discharge their duties in their absence.
  14. In special circumstances, the PAC may also nominate two of the Vice-Presidents (Female/ Male/ Other) to act as Working Co-Presidents.
  15. One of the Co-Presidents shall be one of the three Signatories as regards the financial/ monetary/ bank issues of the Party.
  16. The Co-Presidents shall chair the PAC and other meetings in a rotational manner. 

      9.     NATIONAL VICE-PRESIDENTS:

  1. Maximum number of National Vice Presidents shall be nine.
  2. They shall act and discharge their responsibilities as per the guidance and suggestions of the President.
  3. The PAC shall elect the National Vice Presidents.

 10.  SECRETARY-GENERAL:

  1. The Secretary-General of the Party shall be elected or chosen as per rules in the manner of the election for the Co-Presidents and during the National Council in the National Convention and for a period of two years.
  2. If the Secretary-General is not elected or chosen as per rules, then another round of  the secret ballot shall be resorted to and the candidate obtaining the highest number of votes shall be declared as Secretary-General by the Returning Officer.
  3. The Secretary-General shall be primarily responsible for conducting Party’s activities in tandem with the Co-Presidents and the PAC.
  4. Each action of the Secretary-General shall have the concurrence of the Co-Presidents.
  5. In case of any disagreement, the PAC shall take the final decision with minimum two-thirds majority.
  6. The Secretary-General shall shoulder the responsibility of distribution of work among the National General Secretaries.
  7. Secretary-General shall apprise the Co-Presidents and the PAC, from time to time, about the assigned works and performance of the National General Secretaries.
  8. If the work of any General Secretary is not satisfactory or their involvement in any activity tarnishes the Party’s image or reputation, the Secretary-General then shall remove them from the post after obtaining a two-thirds vote from the PAC.
  9. Secretary-General shall evaluate the performance of all National General Secretaries, International Co-Secretaries and National Secretaries. They shall present detailed reports on Party’s activities in the meetings of National Council/National Executive Committee, the PAC and the National Convention convened as per the rules of the Party. In such reports, pan-India activities of the Party shall need to reflect.
  10. Secretary-General shall be one of the three Signatories as regards the financial/monetary matters/issues of the Party.

      11.  NATIONAL SPOKESPERSONS:

  1. The maximum number of the National Spokespersons shall be eight, including the Chief Spokesperson. All the Spokespersons shall be chosen by the PAC unanimously or with two-thirds majority vote.
  2. Spokespersons shall have thorough knowledge of the ideology, principles, policies, programmes, etc., of the Party and ideological perspectives on contemporary international politics and issues.
  3. Spokespersons shall interact with the media and general public on the ideology, principles, policies, programmes, decisions, etc, of the Party.
  4. Spokespersons shall consult the Co-Presidents or the Secretary-General or both before making any public comment or statement particularly on controversial issues.
  5. If performance of any of the National Spokesperson is not found satisfactory, the PAC shall have the authority to remove them from the post with two-thirds majority vote. This shall not mean removal of the Spokesperson in question from the PAC as well.

12. INTERNATIONAL CO-SECRETARIES: 

  1. The Party shall have two International Co-Secretaries (female and male/other) with the responsibility to ensure cohesive dialogues, coordination and contacts with the Green parties and organisations the world over.
  2. International Co-Secretaries shall be well-versed in Party’s ideology, principles, policies and Green politics from local to global levels.
  3. International Co-Secretaries shall have the status of General Secretaries.
  4. One of the two International Co-Secretaries shall be an automatic member of the PAC.

13.  NATIONAL GENERAL SECRETARIES:

  1. The maximum number of Party’s General Secretaries shall be eleven. They shall be appointed by the Secretary-General in consultation with the PAC with at least two-thirds majority vote.
  2. National General Secretaries shall follow the directives of the Secretary-General and be responsible for the works assigned by her/him.
  3. National General Secretaries shall be in-charge of different states and remain in regular contact and coordination with the concerned state office bearers.

    14.  NATIONAL TREASURER:

  1. The Party shall have a Treasurer. The PAC unanimously or with two-thirds of majority vote shall appoint a competent person with relevant background, knowledge and experience to the post of Treasurer.
  2. Treasurer shall be one with a deep commitment towards financial transparency, integrity and ethics and also able to mobilise ethical funds for the Party.
  3. Treasurer shall present half-yearly statements of the Party’s financial position and its assets moveable or immoveable.
  4. Treasurer shall present brief financial notes on the incomes and expenditure in all the PAC meetings.
  5. The Treasurer shall be authorised to spend up to Rs 1-lakh per year on  Party works but in consultation with the President and Secretary-General.
  6. Any expenditure beyond Rs one lakh shall require concurrence of the PAC with two-thirds of majority vote.
  7. Treasurer shall be responsible for the upkeep of Party’s income and expenditure accounts and all related ledgers and books.
  8. Treasurer shall be accountable to internal and external auditors appointed by the Party.
  9. Treasurer shall be one of the three Signatories as regards the financial/monetary issues/matters.
  10. Treasurer shall keep maximum Rs 20,000 in cash as imprest money at any point of time for petty/sundry expenses.

15.  NATIONAL SECRETARIES:

  1. The maximum number of National Secretaries shall be as many as there are states and union territories in the country meaning each Secretary shall take charge of one state or union territory.
  2. Secretary-General shall appoint the National Secretaries in consultation with the PAC and with their unanimity or two-thirds majority vote.
  3. General Secretary in-charge of the respective state/union territory shall assign work to the Secretary holding responsibility of a particular state/union territory.

16. OFICE SECRETARY:

  1. The Party’s National Head Office (NHO) or Secretariat shall have an Office Secretary.
  2. Office Secretary shall be appointed by the Executive Board in consultation with the Co-Presidents, Secretary-General or any office bearer made responsible to oversee the NHO work.
  3. The Office Secretary shall work under the guidance and instructions of the Executive Board; and shall be Head of the Party Secretariat or NHO.
  4. The Office Secretary shall be responsible for all types of communication with the state, district, block and municipal ward/ village level committees of the Party.
  5. The Executive Board shall be authorised to fix monthly honorarium for Office Secretary from time to time.

17. CO-PRESIDENTS FROM STATE TO THE MUNICIPAL WARD/VILLAGE LEVEL: 

  1. The Party shall have two Co-Presidents every time — one Female and one any other gender including Male at the state, district, block, municipal ward/village levels.
  2. The Co-Presidents at the above-mentioned levels shall be elected or chosen unanimously by their respective Delegates every two years in the manner the Co-Presidents are elected or chosen unanimously at the national level.

18.  VICE-PRESIDENTS FROM STATE TO THE VILLAGE LEVEL: 

  1. The Party shall have two Vice Presidents (female/male or other) at the state, district, ward/block and village levels.
  2. The Vice-Presidents at these levels shall be elected with majority vote, or chosen or appointed unanimously by their respective Councils.

19. GENERAL SECRETARIES FROM STATE TO THE VILLAGE LEVEL: 

  1. Like the National General Secretaries, the General Secretaries at the state, district, ward/block and village levels shall be elected with majority vote, or chosen/appointed unanimously by their respective Councils.
  2. They shall get guidance and instructions from their respective Co-Presidents.

20. SPOKESPERSONS FROM STATE TO THE VILLAGE LEVEL: The state, district, block and ward/village level Co-Presidents shall appoint their Spokespersons in consultation with their respective Councils/Committees.

21. SECRETARIES FROM STATE TO THE VILLAGE LEVEL: Like the National Secretaries, the Secretaries at the state, district, ward/block and village levels shall be chosen or appointed unanimously by their respective Co-Presidents in consultation with their respective Councils/Committees.

22. OFFICE SECRETARIES FROM STATE TO THE VILLAGE LEVEL: The state, district, ward/block and village level Presidents shall appoint the Office Secretaries in their respective units in consultation with their respective committees.

23. RETURNING OFFICER: For elections at any level in the Party, the relevant committee shall appoint a Returning Officer to conduct the election. This person shall not be a Member of the Party. This post shall be temporary and cease to exist after declaration of the results of the elections for which the Returning Officer was appointed.

24. COORDINATORS FOR PARLIAMENTARY CONSTITUENCIES: The President shall appoint Coordinators for all Parliamentary Constituencies in the country. The Coordinator in each Parliamentary Constituency shall be responsible for executing the Party programmes in coordination with all concerned office-bearers and workers.

25. COORDINATORS FOR ASSEMBLY CONSTITUENCIES: The State Presidents shall appoint Coordinators in all Assembly Constituencies of the state concerned. The Coordinator in each Assembly Constituency shall be responsible for executing the Party programmes in coordination with all concerned office-bearers and workers.

26. COORDINATORS FOR WARD COUNCIL: The State Presidents shall appoint Coordinators in all wards of the city or cities. Coordinator in each designated ward shall be responsible for executing the Party programmes in coordination with all concerned office-bearers and members.

27. BOARD OF ADVISERS: Party’s Political Affairs Committee (PAC) shall nominate distinguished Greens or such persons/activists in the Board of Advisers who have made worthwhile contributions in the Green movements/actions in the country.

  1. Board of Advisers shall have a maximum 21 members with indefinite tenure/term.
  2. The PAC shall have the powers to appoint any of the Advisers as lifetime Adviser.
  3. Advisers shall advise and guide the Party but their advice shall not be binding.
  4. They shall not have voting rights at any level and function only at the national level.
  5. The PAC shall seek advice from the Board of Advisers from time to time and take appropriate action.
  6. Party President shall always remain in touch with the Board of Advisers and apprise the PAC and other national office-bearers of the Board of Advisers’ views.
  7. Members of the Board of Advisers, if they so desire, may participate as observers in any meeting, barring the PAC meetings, of the Party organisation and may offer their advice.

28. RIGHT TO RECALL: If an office bearer fails to carry out their roles or the responsibilities, they shall be recalled. One-third of the existing PAC members can move a proposal in the PAC to recall the office bearer. The Right to Recall shall be implementable only after six months of the tenure. The PAC shall approve the Right to Recall motion only after evidence-based proof. Proofs to be provided by those who move the motion. Performance based. Applicable to all the Party office bearers at all levels from national to village/ward level.

29. PERIODICITY OF ELECTIONS: The National Convention shall take place every two years in the month of November offline or online. In the National Convention, the National Council, which is a recurring body and indissoluble, shall elect a new National Executive Committee for a period of two years. After two years, another new National Executive shall come into existence.

30.  GENDER NEUTRALITY: Instead of she or he, the Party shall address the office bearers or the people with gender neutrality. For this, them/their or him/her based on the person’s preference shall be used to address.

ARTICLE VI: RULES OF DISPUTE RESOLUTION & DISCIPLINE

1.   DISCIPLINARY ACTION, SUSPENSION AND EXPULSION: Any complaint received from any level of Party organisation against any Party member /office-bearer shall be investigated by competent authority. If the complaint is found valid, appropriate disciplinary action shall be taken against the accused member/ office-bearer. Disciplinary action may include suspension or expulsion from the Party. The Discipline Committee shall take cognisance of the recommendations of the Enquiry Committee while taking a final decision. If the parties concerned are not satisfied with the Discipline Committee’s action, the case may be looked into by the PAC for final decision in the matter.

ARTICLE VII: BASICS OF RULES OF CONDUCT OF BUSINESS

  1. PARTY’S MEETINGS: Information about Party’s meetings shall be circulated in time i.e. at least a week ahead of the programme/meeting/campaign /activity. However, in urgent situations, the PAC meetings may be convened on short notices. Minutes of all meetings at every level are mandatory. Minutes of any meeting at any level shall be sent to the Party Secretariat at NHO. In case of Annual General Meeting or National Convention, the information/intimation shall be circulated at least one month in advance.
  2. PARTY’S IT WORK & WEBSITE: The Party shall have its Website so that the information related to its Constitution, guiding principles, ideology, policies and programmes, etc, are disseminated electronically as well. Initially, the Website shall be created in English and eventually in other national languages. Only the Party Founder and Convener of the Information Technology Committee (ITC) shall have the overall and universal control and rights over all the protocols, security passwords of the official emails, website(s), social media platforms, documents in the official Drives, etc. The ITC Convener shall share these protocols and passwords with the Deputy Convener as and when required and only to the extent required. Only relevant documents shall be accessible to the concerned committees/groups/ boards/individual office bearers. 

ARTICLE VIII: PARTY FUNDS & ACCOUNTS

  1. LEVIES, FUNDRAISING, CONTRIBUTIONS & DONATIONS: The Party shall require funds for its organisational, political and statutory activities. Apart from the Membership Fee mechanism, the Party shall create its Central Fund by maintaining probity, uprightness, transparency, integrity and ethics in its dealings.
    1. Certain categories of office-bearers shall pay Levy to the Party. The PAC shall fix/revise Levies from time-to-time and for various levels.
    2. Party’s supporters and people caring for Green ideology and politics shall be approached through diverse means to get funds from them. Only transparent, Green and ethical funds shall be accepted for the Party work.
    3. Crowd-funding activities shall also be taken up from time-to-time. The Party shall accept funds/donations/contributions only from the Indian Nationals.
    4. To be fully transparent, the Party shall not accept anonymous donations.
    5. It is mandatory to be a registered user on our website and to also enter all necessary details required while donating.
    6. If needed, the donor details will only be shared with the authorised government agencies like the Election Commission of India (ECI) and the Income Tax Department.
    7. To protect donors’ privacy, they can mark themselves Anonymous while filling the online form. This will prevent your information from appearing publicly on our website.
    8. There shall be a donation cap always, as prescribed by the NC/NEC/PAC from time-to-time.
    9. Paying more than the donation cap is not allowed.
    10. Donations/contributions or other help do not automatically authorise any person to influence the party in any way.
    11. The donations raised by the state/union territory units shall be divided between the state/UT concerned and the NHO shall be in 90:10 proportion. This means 90 percent of the fund shall go to the state/UT and 10 percent to the NHO.
  1. EXTERNAL CONTRIBUTION: The Party shall receive funds from the Indian citizens only living in the country or abroad and in accordance with all related/prevalent rules of the Government of India and laws of the land in this regard. Contributions from individuals, organisations and industrial houses shall be accepted subject to the condition that these contributions are ethical, in the spirit of the rules and laws in the country and are as per the standards set under the code of conduct of the Election Commission of India and are transparent. The Party shall not accept donations from the sources not consistent with the Party’s basic ideals, principles, ideology, policies and programmes.
  1. PARTY’S BANK ACCOUNTS: The Party shall open its account(s) in one or more government or government recognised banks. All incomes of the Party shall be deposited in such account(s). Maximum efforts shall be there to get the funds through cheques only. Receipts shall be issued against all cheques and cash collected. Proper accounts shall be maintained of the funds acquired through crowd funding, etc. Proper records and accounts shall be maintained on a regular basis. Donations shall not be accepted from those sources which according to the Green ideology are not Green or are not ethical and transparent. The President, Secretary General and Treasurer shall be the Signatories as regards the financial dealings. Signatures of at least two persons out of these three shall be required for any bank/account/financial dealing/transaction.
  1. AUDITED ANNUAL ACCOUNTS & FINANCIAL STATEMENT: The Party shall get its accounts audited during each Financial Year by a Chartered Accountant (CA) and submit its copy to the Election Commission of India (ECI) within a period of six (6) months after the end of each Financial Year.
  1. ELECTORAL BONDS: The Party shall go for the Electoral Bonds but only when they have the Transparency Clause attached to them.
  1. UTILISATION OF MEMBERSHIP FEE, LEVIES, FUNDS, CONTRIBUTIONS & DONATIONS: All money and donations generated through membership fee, crowd or individual funding, ethical contributions, donations, etc, shall be utilised in the promotion of Party, its Ideology, Principles, Core Values, programmes, campaigns, elections, etc, only. No portion of such money/funds shall be utilised for personal or individual purposes. In short, the Party shall utilise its funds for political activities and get its accounts audited during each financial year by Auditor on the panel of CAG and submit its copy to the Election Commission of India within a period of six months after the end of each financial year.
  2. HONORARIUM: To meet the basic needs of the Party cadre, the Party shall try to provide Honorarium to them as and when necessary and possible. The quantum of such assistance shall be decided by the PAC.
  1. AUDIT: Party’s accounts and books shall be audited at the end of each financial year (April to March) by competent auditors appointed by the PAC. The audited accounts and balance-sheets shall be provided to the parties concerned, for example the Election Commission of India.  The ITRs shall also be filed on time. The Treasurer shall present the annual Audited Financial Report in the PAC meeting. The Party shall maintain its financial year from 1st April to 31st March. Copies of Audited Financial Report shall be circulated among all national office-bearers and also shared with the state units. Copies of all these records shall be kept at Party NHO. Any member or office-bearer of the Party shall be able to check the Audited Financial Reports by delivering prior requisition to the Office Secretary. If any member or office-bearer finds any irregularity in the financial records, she/he may send a written complaint in this regard to the PAC.

ARTICLE IX: PARTY CONSTITUTION’S AMENDMENT PROCEDURE

  1. AMENDMENTS IN PARTY’S CONSTITUTION: Only the National Council during the National Convention offline or online shall have the right and authority with two-thirds of majority vote of the attendees to make or approve amendment(s), inclusion(s), change(s), enhancement(s), deletion(s), etc., in the Party’s Constitution. In emergent and urgent situations, the PAC shall take a two-thirds majority decision to call a National Convention online to process the amendments in the Party Constitution in sync with the Green Guiding Principles and Party Founder’s Vision, Ideology, Philosophy, etc.

ARTICLE X: MERGER, SPLIT & DISSOLUTION PROCEDURE

  1. MERGER, CHANGE OF NAME, OR DISSOLUTION OF THE PARTY:  The Party’s merger into any other political Party or vice versa, change of the Party’s name and the Party’s dissolution shall be done after following due provisions in the Party Constitution and due care shall be taken in such matters. For any such decision, two-thirds of the majority vote in the National Council during the National Convention shall be mandatory to take decisions regarding Merger, Change of Name, or Dissolution of the Party.

ARTICLE XI: MANDATORY PROVISION UNDER SECTION 29A (5) OF RP ACT, 1951

  1. PARTY’S ALLEGIANCE TO THE INDIAN CONSTITUTION: INDIA GREENS PARTY shall bear true faith and allegiance to the Constitution of India as by law established and to the principles of Socialism, Secularism and Democracy and would uphold the Sovereignty, Unity and Integrity of India.

END.