Taluk Panchayats seek more power

Hubli, Sep 5 (UNI) Members of the Karnataka Federation of Taluka Panchayat (TP) today demanded more powers to TPs.

Addressing a press conference here, Federation President Shridhar Redder said TPs should either be given powers or abolished.

He said with the strengthening of village panchayats, TPs had lost their importance and had absolutely no work. The grants given to TPs had also been drastically cut.

He said though every elected TP member represented around 10,000 people, he had no power to take up any development work.

Mr Redder said the Federation would submit a memorandum to Chief Minister H D Kumaraswamy and his Deputy B S Yediyurappa and Rural Development Minister at Bangalore on September 11, highlighting their demand. If the government failed to act, the Federation members would stage a dharna in front of the Vidhana Soudha, the state Secretariat, he warned.

UNI MNP RG GM2059