IATO amends constitution

IATO EGM unanimously passes all amendments in the Memorandum of Associations (MoA). Changes, coming after 26 years, will be applicable for next 10 years, says Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO.

Nisha Verma

Rajiv Mehra, President, IATO, has announced that they had to call off their Bengaluru convention, scheduled from 15-18 September 2022, owing to withdrawal of support by the Karnataka Tourism. “All arrangements made for the convention in Bengaluru have been cancelled in spite of giving written confirmation for hosting the convention by Karnataka Tourism. IATO had booked 400 rooms at Hotel Hilton and Hilton Garden Inn and the convention hall but had to release all bookings,” he informed.

New convention host
However, he shared that they are now looking at an alternative destination and venue for the convention, which would be most likely held in December now. “Now, we are in touch with Rajasthan and very soon we can give positive news on the status. If the convention happens, it will be around middle of December. Some other states have also approached us for hosting the convention, but since we have written to Rajasthan already, we will concentrate on the same and then move forward,” he informed.

MoA changes
The IATO Extra Ordinary General Meeting (EGM) was held recently, where the IATO General Body unanimously approved all the amendments in the Memorandum of Associations (MoA), which was done after 26 years, revealed Mehra. “Finally, the MoA has been amended after 26 years. In the last couple of years, the executive committee was trying to figure out the changes that must be made and how. Twenty-six years is a long period, wherein things have changed. Hence, we had to update it to suit present situations, needs and requests by members. We have also ensured that it covers the next 10 years and there is no need to amend the MoA again before that,” he said. Sharing a few highlights of the changes, Mehra said, “We have implemented one person, one post rule, which means that a Chapter Chairman cannot be in the Executive Committee (EC). Similarly, an EC member cannot be a Chapter Chairman. We have now allowed anyone who gets his MOT recognition done, to get their status changed from allied to active member. Earlier, a person used to wait for two years before his status was changed to active. Now, it can be done immediately without any waiting at all.”

He added,” We have also said that anyone who wishes to join and stand for elections, must be in the IATO EC for at least one term before standing for a leadership position like that of a President, or an office-bearer. This has been done so that everyone knows how the IATO EC functions.”

He also informed that the tenure of an EC member was unlimited. “An EC member could stand for as long as he/ she wanted, whereas office-bearers’ term was limited to two. Now, we have limited the maximum terms of the EC to three. After that he/ she must elevate to an office-bearer or lead IATO. This would give more people a chance to be a part of the IATO EC,” he claimed. Green shoots are also there. “Any person who gets an MOT recognition as a green shoot will be immediately taken as an allied member after fulfilling the requirements of an allied member. These green shoots have also been introduced and applied,” elucidated Mehra.

Apart from that, Mehra revealed, the association has given more powers to the chapters. “Now, if there are substantial number of members in a chapter, they will have the power to elect their own Chapter Chairman. Funds will also be given. This way, each chapter will get the opportunity to elect their leader. It would also bring a good balance in the next five to six years between North and South India,” he pointed out.

New members
Mehra shared that they are ready to accept new members. “In the last 45 days, we have received around 51 new applications, which is an achievement. If people want to become IATO members, we are ready to accept as many new people as possible.”