Minutes of Proceedings of 18th
Annual General
Meeting held on 28.06.2015
In terms of the Notice dated 5th June,
2015 issued by Sri Kushal Roy, Secretary, Happy Nook Co-operative Housing
Society Ltd., the Annual General Meeting of the Society commenced at 5.15 P.M
on 28.06.2015 at the Society premises with Sri Bimal Kumar Ghosh as Chairman of
the meeting.
Members Present:
103 (One hundred and three only)
The Chairman
called the Meeting to order.
The Chairman requested the Secretary to read out the
Notice dated 5th June, 2015 of the 18th Annual General
Meeting for convening the meeting which was done.
Being requested by the Chairman, the Secretary
initiated discussion Agenda wise.
Agenda No : 01
Confirmation
of the Proceedings of the last Annual General Meeting held on 31.08.2014 &
Half- Yearly General Meeting Held on 19.04.2015
Mr.Sadiquzzaman (A-8/14) proposed and seconded by
Mr. Arun Kumar Saha (A-4/11) the Proceedings of the last Annual General Meeting
and Half-Yearly General Meeting were confirmed by the house unanimously.
Agenda No: 02
Consideration
of the Secretary’s Report
The Secretary at the outset welcomed all members
present and read out the report which had been circulated earlier along with
the Notice of the 18th AGM.
Mr. Arunava Maitra (A-4/1) mentioned that he had got permission
from KMC to create an opening between the flats no A 4/1 and A-4/2 in 2010 but
the Approval letter is not traceable. He stated that the same was approved by
Happy Nook Board. He had tried to get a copy of the “Approval Letter” through
RTI but did not get it from the KMC. He mentioned that other members have also
undertaken modifications in their respective flats but no action has been taken
against them.
Mr. Benudhar Munshi (A-5/8), the Chairman of the erstwhile Board
mentioned that the Board had given permission to Mr. Maitra to create an
opening on the basis of which only Mr.Arunava Maitra had undertaken the
dismantling of the wall between the two flats. To this the Secretary informed
that Mr.Maitra was given a conditional approval to create a 3ft. x 7ft. opening
in the external wall between A-4/1 and A-4/2 subject to all original papers
including the No Objection Certificate in original from KMC being submitted to
the Society by Mr. Maitra. The Chairman also stated that on the application of
Mr.Maitra notings are there in the Board proceedings that Mr. Maitra had been
unable to submit the Original papers since he was sick. The Chairman informed
that there was no record found in any of the subsequent Board proceedings
thereafter that the subject papers have been submitted to the Society nor could
any trace of those papers been found later also. Mr.Subrata Ray enquired
whether these statements are there in the Board proceedings of the erstwhile
Board when the Chairman said that Mr.Munshi, the erstwhile Chairman had noted
in BOD Minutes that the delay of submission of original documents was due to
Mr.Maitra’s illness.The Chairman stated that Mr.Maitra had never abided by the
order of the Board nor submitted the original documents till date. The
Secretary wondered as to why an Original paper could not be submitted if
somebody would be sick. The Original papers could have been made to reach the
Society’s office through other means (by any other member of the house) also.
Mrs. Jharna Ganguly (A-5/2) complimented the Board for the good
upkeep of the Campus and said that as such there are no complaints against the
functioning of the Board. She wanted to know what are the findings of the
one-man Committee set up to enquire the Mr. Arunava Maitra matter and as to
whether the person conducting the enquiry had expertise to conduct the enquiry.
Mr. Pratul Roy Chaudhury (A-9/8) objected to the Secretary’s
Report mentioning about the letter received from WBHB regarding recovery of
outstanding amounts from two defaulting units in the Society. He
maintained that this was a matter between WBHB and the individuals and the
Board is no way involved in this. He felt that this has compromised the dignity
of the persons concerned.
Dr. N. B. Chanda (A-6/8) maintained that the matter did not have
relevance to the working of the Board and hence should not have been mentioned
in the report. He wanted to know if the concerned persons were also defaulters
to the Society.
Mr.Asit Kumar Sen (A-9/2) asked whether the WBHB had given a
direction to the Society to publish the names or was it a request.
Mrs. Sanghamitra Ray (A-8/8) pointed out that this was an example
of double standards being professed by some of the members. While on one hand
Members want to publish the name of the defaulting Members on account of dues
to the Society, on the other they feel that the dignity of the concerned
persons has been compromised by reporting the matter.
At the request of some members the Secretary read out the letter
received from the WBHB and clarified that the Board had to comply with the
lawful orders of a Statutory Body and report the same to the Members. He added
that in spite of the fact that the WBHB had requested the Board to display the
default Notice in each and every Notice Board of the Society the Board had
refrained from doing so, so that it does not become a matter of any sort of
embarrassment for the defaulting units. The Chairman stated that the Membership
status of both the units is entangled in a lot of legal technicalities and is
in a question mark and hence it is imperative that Members are kept appraised
of the developments. Further Chairman stated that as upto date the legal heir
of the two flats of the deceased owners have not been established and as such
there is a confusion as to whom the letters could be addressed. The Secretary
also stated that only the Flat Numbers have been mentioned in the report so
that the dignity of the occupants of those two units does not get compromised.
Mr. Sadiquzzaman (A-8/14) supported the stand taken by the Board.
Mrs. Nargis Sattar Hussain (A-8/6) wanted to know why the Board
has not been able to recover rent from CESC for Transformer Room and why are
they not being pro-active in this regard.
Mr.Debasish Das (A-6/7) said that personal attacks should not be
made in the Secretary’s Report.
Subhodeep Ray Chaudhury (A-11/7) mentioned that the Secretary’s
Report should be accepted but the comments of the Members should be recorded.
The Secretary’s Report was finally adopted unanimously.
Proposed by : Mr. Arun Kumar Saha (A-4/11)
Seconded by : Mrs. Sanghamitra Ray (A-8/8)
Agenda No:
03
Approval of
Audited Accounts for the year 2014-2015
Mr. P.K. Guha Biswas (A-5/3) appreciated the Board for many
positive initiatives. He sought clarification regarding difference in quotation
and actual price of the CCTV System installed in the Campus.
Mr Dilip Kumar Mukhopadhyay (A-3/7) pointed out that there is
steep rise in deficit. He suggested that variance analysis of budget vs. cost
should be done and intimated to members.
Mr. Guha Biswas (A-5/3) also pointed out with concern the steady
rise in maintenance expenses and suggested that thorough analysis be done to
find out the reasons and corrective action should be taken.
Mr Dilip Kumar Mukhopadhyay (A-3/7) also wanted to know if IT
Returns are being filed online. Refund needs to be followed up.
Mr. Debasis Das (A-6/7) mentioned that CCTV was installed without
taking prior approval of members. He felt that the Board is not spending
prudently and questioned purchase of new pump. He further stated that no
Capital Expenditure should be incurred without approval of members. He also
stated that the expenses on Security Charges have gone up substantially.
Dr.N.B. Chanda (A-6/8) stated that the practice of taking Post
facto approval of a Capital Expenditure is not a good practice and should be
avoided. He stated that why CCTV has been installed without having taken
consent of the Members. Dr. N. B. Chanda mentioned that the expenses of the
Society was going up steeply and members are finding it difficult to cope up
with it. He mentioned that everybody does not have deep pockets which could
accommodate unnecessary expenses. Secretary informed although Capital
Expenditure of Installation of CCTV was not obtained before incurring the
expenditure, but the Members were apprised of the plan about installation of
CCTV in the Annual General Meeting dated 31.08.2014 and about the Half-Yearly
General Meeting dated 19.04.2015 which was unanimously adopted. Dr.N.B.Chanda
remarked that what was the need of spending Rs.11,866.00 to felicitate the Air
Chief Marshal Mr.Arup Raha. He had come here to meet his mother and a simple
flower bouquet could have been given to him instead of making such an elaborate
programme.
Mr. Sadiquzzaman (A-8/14) strongly protested the remark made by
Dr. Chanda. He felt that the members themselves felt honoured by felicitating a
serving ACM, who is also the Chief of Army, Navy and Air force. Such statements
are insult to the members.
Mr. Pratul Roy Chaudhury (A-9/8) wanted to know why expenditure of
Rs. 20,000.00 paid to the Consultant who had advised the Society on the
renovation / modification plan of the Community Hall being a Capital
Expenditure was made without taking approval of the Members. To this the
Secretary informed that many of the Members have been interested to renovate /
upgrade the existing Community Hall and to come back to the Members with a
concrete proposal / plan including the possible expenditure of the renovation
it was felt that the services of a Professional Consultant need to be taken and
since this is a Consultancy related expenditure it will not fall under Capital
Expenditure till such time the modification of the Community Hall is done. In
fact, this has been the view of the Chartered Accountants also.
.
Mr. Benudhar Munshi (A-5/8) pointed out certain anomaly in the
Account Statement. Mr.Munshi as well as Mr.Pratul Roychowdhury questioned how
the Maintenance Fund of Rs. 54,500.00 was shown as income in the Income &
Expenditure A/C, which in their view, flouted the Accounting Norms.He stated
that Car Parking Charges, Service Charges, Late Fees etc. be treated on accrual
basis rather than on Actual basis. He suggested that the electricity
consumption be reduced and monitored. He also stated that the approval for the
expenses incurred towards installation of CCTV should be taken on the exact
amount. He also stated that the percentage increase in the Salary of the Staff
should not be too much as had been the recent trend.
Mr. Asit Sen (A-9/2) said that Mr. Benudhar Munshi has been
guiding the Board and have brought forward many systems for consideration of
Board. He wanted that a variance analysis of expenditure be done.
The Chairman and the Secretary profusely thanked Mr.Benudhar
Munshi for having spared his valuable time to undertake the Internal Audit and
for guiding the Board from time to time with his valuable suggestions.
Mr. Dilip
Kumar Mukhopadhyay (A-3/7) explained that from the beginning, the stated
accounting policy of the Society was on accrual basis except for some minor
items like penal charges for late payment, two wheeler charges etc. which had
been booked on cash basis. The said accounting policy was stated in the Auditor’s
Report each year. All on a sudden, in a particular year, unrealized maintenance
charges were booked on a separate account viz Maintenance Fund without booking
the same in Income & Expenditure A/C, thus totally deviating from the
standard accounting policy of the Society. In the year 2014-2015, the entire
maintenance charges were booked in Income & Expenditure A/C. Thus there is
nothing wrong in transferring the Maintenance Fund to Income & Expenditure
A/C. Since, there is already a shortfall in income in the year 2014-2015. By
transferring the amount of Maintenance Fund, the provision was put on right
track. He further added that it is our general experience that the concerns
which prepare their accounts on accrual basis, they book all items even interest
on Security Deposit with CESC / Electricity booked on accrual Basis.
He said that the year under review booked a deficit
of Rs. 2.70 lakhs and accumulated deficit is about Rs. 5.19 lakhs. Every year
when the Revenue budget is placed it takes into account estimated income &
Expenditure under all possible heads of accounts. Therefore it appears that
there must have been some additional / un expected / emergency expenditure
which resulted in exceeding the budget expenditure or there must have been some
shortfall in some items of estimated income.
Mr.
Dilip Kumar Mukhopadhyay request the board to give a list of items where we
exceeded the budgeted amount or face a short fall from this year itself if
possible or if not then at least from next year. Members in that case will be
able to convince themselves about justification of such expenses / shortfall.
Thus the option will be with the members either to contribute more for such
deficit or allow the Board to use a part of Development Fund for non deficit.
There is nothing wrong to use Development Fund for non deficit as it is a free
reserve, he added.
Mr Subrata
Ray (A-8/9) explained the principles of Internal Audit and its relevance in the
context of our type of co-operative society. He stated that Internal Audit is a
tool of the Management to suggest the Board for improvement in functioning by
providing independent assurance that Society’s risk management, governance and
internal control process are opening effectively as recommended by the
Chartered Institute of Internal Auditors. He also stated that Internal Audit is
neither a Statutory Audit nor transaction audit. Since in Sl 97 (2) (a) of W.B.
Co-operative Societies Act, 2008 it is suggested that the Co-operative
Societies whose Working Capital on the last day of the co-operative year
exceeds two crore of rupees shall come under the preview of running audit –it
is not obligatory the part of our Society to have internal audit. However, if
the Members agree to have internal audit in our Society then this should be
done as suggested in Sl 7 (b) of W.B. Co-operative Societies Act, 2008 i.e. the
internal auditor to get its account internally audited so that the Board of
Directors can get a report from the Internal Auditor in each month and take
appropriate decision. Since one month period is quite close, Board may consider
quarterly reporting instead of each month. He also requested the Internal
Auditors to suggest improvement in important cost centers such as power, water
supply, Security Services etc. and to start with suggest wages and means to
minimize the expenditure on the power consumption without affecting quality of
service.
Mr.Keshab Bhattacrjee (A-7/5) remarked that no rule permit the
Board to incur expenses what ever the amount may be without the approval of the
Members.
Mr Jaydeep Naskar (A-10/15) mentioned that he is a qualified
Chartered Accountant and understands the Accounting Rules. He pointed out that
he being a new Member, he was rather pained and shocked to see the attitude of
a handful of members who are only trying to obstruct the proceedings since the
beginning of the meeting.
Mr Jaydeep Naskar (A-10/15) proposed to pass the Audited Accounts
& Statements for the year 2014-2015. Mr P.B. Sinha (A- 9/14) seconded the
proposal. The Audited Accounts & Statements for the year 2014-2015 was
carried and adopted.
Agenda No: 04
Approval of Budget for
the year 2015 –2016
The Chairman placed the budget on the floor of the
House. Mr. Benudhar Munshi stated that the budgeting should be done more judiciously
and precisely so that later on the Society does not have any deficit over
income.
The
Annual Budget & Programme of Activities for 2015-2016 was passed and
adopted after deliberations.
Proposed by Mr. Subrata Ray (A-8/9) & Seconded
by Mrs. Antara Chaudhury (A-4/14).
Agenda No:
05
Annual Maintenance
Charges on the Members for the year 2015-2016
Mr.P.K.Guha Biswas stated that the Maintenance
Charges have jumped substantially over the last two years and areas where
expenses could be reduced need to be looked into.
Mrs Nandita Dutta (A-9/7) felt that the maintenance
expenses should be within reasonable limits and payment schedules should be
made more flexible giving more time especially for Members like her who does
not have additional source of income.
The Chairman explained that hardly any maintenance
had been undertaken during the period of the Special officer and when this
Board took charge a lot of expenses on various heads had to be undertaken which
called for a lot of expenses in a short span of time. To set the campus right,
what it is today, quite a handful of extra hands were engaged for short period
at a cost. Also in tenure of Special Officer the Society had excess expenditure
over income to the tune of Rs. 3.14 lacs.
“Resolved that Annual Maintenance Charges
of Rs. 7,470.00 for the year 2015-16 with effect from 01.04.2015 be paid by
Members. Out of this amount of Rs. 7,470.00, the amount of Rs. 1,875.00 is due
for payment by 30th June, 2015 as per Resolution of Half-Yearly
General Meeting and notified already. Balance amount of (Rs. 7,470.00 – Rs.
1,875.00) Rs. 5,595.00 is to be paid by one time or by two installments. 1st
Installment of Rs. 3,000.00 due is to be paid on 30th September, 2015 & 2nd
installment of Rs.2,595.00 due is to be paid on 31st December, 2015.
As before interest @ 2% per month would be payable for delayed payment”.
The proposal was proposed by Mr. Sadiquzzaman (A-8/14) and
seconded by Group Capt. S.B. Majumdar (A-11/8) and was carried and adopted.
Agenda No: 06
Installation
of lift in all 11 Blocks
The Chairman briefed the members on the status of Lift
installation in the Society. He also informed that all statutory
approvals have been obtained and that the lift will be installed in all the 11
Blocks of the Society and the project will be financed by the willing Members
only.
Mrs. Jharna
Ganguly (A-5/2) wanted to know which High Court Order will be abided by the
Society.
Mr. Keshab Bhattacharjee (A-7/5)
mentioned that installation of lift is a change in project. Hence permission of
Registrar of Cooperative Societies should be taken. On being asked by him
whether the Board has received any permission from the Registrar of
Co-operative Societies the Chairman replied in the affirmative and stated that
all the Rules as per Law will be followed for installation of lift .
Dr. N.B.Chandra wanted the detailed plan of lift installation be
made known to the members. He also wanted to know who will bear the operating
expenses for the lifts.
Mr Subir Das (A-1/4) also wanted to know the details of the lift
proposal.
The Chairman said in past a
Power Point Presentation on Lift installation in our Society was made
and all Members were invited in the Community Hall. Many attended. For those
who did not attend another presentation on the subject will be organized in
near future.
Mrs. Sanghamitra Ray wanted the name of
all members dissenting against lift installation and misinterpreting the High
Court Orders be recorded as it is tantamounting to Contempt of Court.
Mr S.N. Roy Chaudhury (A-7/10) wanted to know the estimated cost
for lift installation. He also wanted to know if payment in instalments is
possible or not.
Mrs. Srimati Mukherjee (A-9/4) suggested that the Campus may be
redeveloped for better utilisation of our land.
Mrs.
Krishna Patra (A-6/2) said that Lift being a contentious issue we should leave
aside the Lift proposal so that happiness returns in Happy Nook. To this the
Secretary said that if everybody would kindly agree to the lift proposal
looking at the humanitarian angle then there would be no more unpleasantness
prevailing in the campus. The Secretary on behalf of the Board once again
appealed and implored upon all the Members to co-operate and lend their kind
support to get the Lift installed in all the 11 Blocks in the campus. He said
that since the project cost is to be borne only by the willing Members then why
are a few Members objecting to the installation of lift in the campus.
Agenda
No: 07
Replacement
of the existing Barbed Wire Fencing
Replacement of Barbed wire fencing was proposed by Mrs Sanghamitra
Ray and Seconded by Mr.Jaydeep Naskar and was carried and adopted as below:
“Resolved that an one time contribution amount of Rs. 815.00 will
be paid by each Member towards the replacement of the Barbed Wire Fencing along
the periphery of the entire campus over the boundary wall. The amount of Rs.
815.00 will be paid by the Members by the 31st of December’ 2015 and interest @ 2% per month would be
payable for delayed payment”.
Agenda
No: 08
Construction
of New Umbrella / Shade Structures in the Boot House Park
The Secretary explained that two Shaded Structure
has been planned to be constructed diagonally across the Boot House Park with
comfortable sitting arrangements so that people could gossip and relax as and
when they are free. He added that similar structure exists in B Block which the
Members could go and see.
Mr.
Subrata Ray said that Members be given an opportunity to send their suggestions
about the design of the Umbrella structure to be reconstructed. Two month’s
time may be given for the suggestion to come in and then the proposal could be
again placed in the next Half -Yearly General Meeting after considering any new
proposal.
Mrs Nargis Sattar Hossain (A-8/6) maintained that
all efforts should be made to contain expenditure and there was no need to
construct umbrellas.
Mr Keshab Bhattacharjee maintained that the park is
not used by most of the members and hence requested to reconsider the proposal.
He said that there are hardly anybody who sit under the umbrella.
Mr Arunava Maitra proposed that the sewage pipes
within the building should be relocated outside instead of constructing
umbrella.
After deliberations it was decided to drop this
proposal for the time being.
Agenda
No: 09
Installation
of Fire Extinguishers in the Campus
Mrs Kalyani Dutta (A-10/6) mentioned that fire
extinguishers does not work and there is no necessity for same. Instead Fire
insurance should be taken.
Mr Subir Das (A-1/4) maintained that the
installation of Fire Extinguisher will be meaningful only if Fire drill
/training is imparted to everybody in the campus.
Mr.
Arunava Maitra proposed a second egress in the flats for evacuation in the
event of fire.
The
Chairman suggested that all Members should make a window in the iron cage in
the balcony, without any alteration of look, in one of their balconies for a 2nd
opening.
Mr Amitava Ray (A-1/9) mentioned that fire fighting
is a multi-pronged activity and involves high cost. He proposed that basic
material for fire fighting – sand and water should be made available in all
buildings along with the Fire Extinguishers. He also highlighted that the Fire
Extinguishers would need to refilled regularly and this will be a running cost.
The Secretary shared his personal experience where
in a major fire in the kitchen of one particular Flats in D Block and the same
could be doused and controlled with the help of the Fire Extinguishers
installed in all the Buildings over there. He felt that Fire extinguishers are
very much necessary as a first line of defence against fire in the campus.
The proposal was however dropped for the time being.
Agenda
No: 10
Post
Facto approval of the expenses incurred towards the installation of CCTV in the
Campus
Mrs. Sikha Bhadra (A-11/6) said that CCTV footage
should be monitored. She further said that many outsiders are entering our
campus, especially in the morning which should be looked into.
Mr. Keshab Bhattacharjee mentioned that CCTV should
not have been installed without prior approval of members. He said that there
was no necessity of CCTV. Mrs Nargis Sattar expressed that since it is a
Capital Expenditure prior approval of
the Members should have been taken. The Secretary admitted that there had been
a procedural lapse on the part of the Board and that prior approval should have
been taken from the Members before the installation of the CCTV system.
However, the intention to install CCTV in the campus have been discussed on
several occasions including the last AGM.
Mr. Debasis
Das said that the expenditure incurred on CCTV appeared to be high.
The Secretary maintained that the comparison of cost
should be on apple to apple basis. The decision to buy the particular model of
digital camera was taken after carefully considering its picture quality. He
informed that multiple visits were made to the neighbouring Societies to see
the performance of the CCTV system before deciding on the models. He informed
that while the CCTV cameras installed in B Block are of “Analog type” with a
resolution of 720 x 480, the cameras
installed in our Society are all HD Type with a resolution of 1280 x 960.
Cameras installed in our Society have Infra Red system where by recording could
be done even in dark where as the cameras installed in B Block does not have
any such features. The cameras installed by the Society can be accessed from
any computer under the net work. High quality CAT 6 cables have been used in
our Society which have better data carrying ability and more longevity.
The expense of Rs. 1,41,940.00 towards installation
of CCTV camera system was approved by the House.
Acceptance of the expenditure was proposed by Mr.
S.N. Roy Chaudhury (A-7/10) and seconded by Mr. Subrata Ray (A-8/9).
Agenda
No: 11
Appointment
of Internal Auditor for 2015-2016
Mr. Sadiquzzam (A-8/14) proposed the name of Mr Dilip Kumar Mukhopadhyay as the Internal
Aditor for the year 2015-16 and the House unanimously accepted same.
Agenda No.
12
Consideration
of any other matter which may forwarded in accordance with Bye Laws with the
approval of Chairman
a)Mrs. Jayanti Ghosh (A-2/2) objected to the construction
of the pathway in front of her flat. She maintained that her privacy has been
infringed upon. She wanted the structure to be pulled down. Mr. Anup Dewanji,
Vice- Chairman explained that this had been done on the basis of the
discussions and deliberations held in the last HYGM. . He added that it was
basically a proposal mooted by Mr.Siddhartha Roy Chowdhury to mitigate the
problem of waterlogging being faced by the residents of Building No.2.
Mr.Siddhartha Ray Chowdhury (A-2/1) explained the context in which construction
of the structure was undertaken.
Mr. Debasis Das also requested that the structure be
dismantled.
It was decided to dismantle the structure.
b) Mr.Subir Das (A-1/4) stated that termite is a big
problem in the campus and the buildings could be at risk if actions are not
taken immediately. He wanted the Society to look into this with all seriousness
urged to undertaken Termite treatment for the entire campus. The House decided
to consider this in due course.
The meeting ended with a vote of thanks to the
Chair.
(Kushal
Roy)
(Bimal Kumar Ghosh)
Secretary
Chairman
01.07.2015
01.07.2015
