HYDERABAD: Sindh Abadgar Ittehad (SAI) has resolved that farmers will not register themselves with Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) and not pay tax to the department until the government meets growers’ demands.

The Ittehad leaders who met here on Wednesday with their president Nawab Zubair Talpur in the chair expressed concern over Sindh government’s decision to increase agricultural income tax from 15pc to 45pc.

The meeting said that SAI rejected the government’s decision and said that farm sector was facing tough time and farmers had been economically destroyed. Still, there was talk about new taxes which would not be accepted, it said.

The meeting said that farmers were already paying taxes directly and indirectly, which included fertiliser and tube-wells. It resolved that farmers would not register themselves with Sindh Revenue Board (SRB) and would not pay tax to this department, and urged the government to delegate such authority to the revenue department.

The Ittehad, however, said that if support price of wheat was fixed at Rs5,000 per 40kg, paddy at Rs4,000 per 40kg, cotton at Rs12000 per 40kg and sugar cane at Rs600 per 40kg then farmers could review their decision to pay such income tax.

The meeting slammed deduction in cotton’s rate on the ground of rainfall and said that prices of agriculture produce were artificially controlled which affected farmers’ economy. Wherever saline water drains were desilted they should be repaired immediately, it said.

It expressed surprise over breach in Guni Canal and said rehabilitation work of the canal had been done lately still the canal developed such a huge breach, which left many villages inundated.

The meeting noted that farmers lost their seed worth millions of rupees in addition to standing crops, which were already affected by diseases and water shortage.

The meeting was attended by Mohammad Anwar Kamboh, Khan Mohammad Kumbhar, Pir Ahfaq Sirhindi, Abdul Haq Zaunr, Javed Riar, Sharif Nizamani, Abdul Raheem Dars, Saifullah Gul, Mohib Ali Mari and Mian Shadab.

Published in Dawn, July 10th, 2025