SKM opposes scrapping of cotton import tariff, installation of smart meters in Haryana

A State-level panchayat convened by the Samyukt Kisan Morcha (SKM) in Jind on Sunday (August 31, 2025) opposed the Union government’s decision to scrap the 11% tariff on cotton imports till December 31, warning that the move could push 60 lakh cotton growers into distress. The gathering also rejected the scheme to install smart meters, terming it an attempt to privatise electricity.

SKM Haryana leader Inderjit Singh condemned what he described as the “anti-people” step of extending the cotton import tariff withdrawal. He alleged that the August 19 notification, which was initially effective till September 30, was extended “under the United States’ pressure” and said the decision would prove “devastating” to already struggling farmers.

The panchayat resolved to protest the move by burning effigies of U.S. President Donald Trump and Prime Minister Narendra Modi between September 1 and 3.

Resolution adopted at Jind meet calls tariff cut “anti-farmer”, announces protests from September 1. Photo: Special Arrangement

Despite heavy rain, a large number of farmers attended the panchayat, where a written resolution rejected the smart meter scheme. The resolution stated that electricity, being an essential service, “was never meant to be a profit-earning sector” but had been gradually opened up for privatisation. It alleged that increasing power tariffs and the prepaid smart meters scheme were part of an “ulterior motive” to hand over the sector to private corporations.

Electricity Employees Union president Suresh Rathi and Dharam Pal Badala also addressed the gathering, warning that power tariffs would become unaffordable for farmers, small traders and the poor.

Speakers further demanded that the Haryana government withdraw the land pooling project, which asks landowning farmers of several districts to apply for selling their land. They argued that the proposal violated the Land Acquisition Act, 2013, which bars acquisition of fertile land, and resolved that “not even a small piece of land” would be sold.