Kodagu District Gram Panchayat Elected Members Union will stage a protest on June 29, opposing the plan of the government to bring amendment to the 73rd ordinance with an intention of the curtailing the powers of grama sabhas.

Informing this to media persons here on Wednesday, the union president Neravanda Umesh said the act of curtailing the powers of gram sabhas for the reason that corruption has taken place in some of the gram panchayats.

“Former prime minister late Rajiv Gandhi introduced the system in order to bring about decentralisation in the Panchayat Raj mechanism, in order to see that all programmes of the government reached the rural areas. But the present amendment is intended to uproot the noble idea,” he alleged.

The government has already withdrawn the power of implementing the drinking water projects from the gram panchayats. The beneficiaries of housing schemes are also being selected under the leadership of MLAs. The GPs will become powerless soon if their powers will be withdrawn in his manner, he apprehended.

Mr Umesh said the government would have conducted investigations into the misappropriations taking place in gram panchayats. But it is not fair to curtail their entire powers, he added.

Union General Secretary Yakoob, Somwarpet taluk unit president Balakrishna Rai and member Teerthakumar were present in the press meet.