J&K Govt defends industrial land allotment to cricketer Muthiah Muralitharan, non-residents

Arjun Sharma

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Jammu, March 10

Days after a controversy erupted over the allotment of land in Kathua to Sri Lankan cricketer Muthiah Muralitharan for setting up an industrial unit, the Jammu and Kashmir (J&K) Government clarified on Monday that all procedures for land allotment to non-residents were duly followed.

Responding to a question in the Assembly by MLA Mir Saifullah, who raised concerns about the legality of land allotments to non-residents of J&K, the Minister for Industries and Commerce, Surinder Choudhary, confirmed that the land had been allotted as per the relevant policy provisions.

The Industries and Commerce Department further emphasised that land for industrial purposes is allocated based on the J&K Industrial Land Allotment Policy 2021-30 (Amended Version). Prior to this, land allotment was governed by the Industrial Policy 2016-26.

The issue gained attention on Saturday when CPI(M) legislator MY Tarigami, without naming Muralitharan, accused the authorities of allotting land to a Sri Lankan cricketer without charging any fees, which led to an uproar in the Legislative Assembly.

Official documents reveal that M/s Ceylon Beverages Can Pvt, a Chennai-based company owned by Muthiah Muralitharan, was allotted 206 Kanals of land in Kathua’s Bhagthali-II industrial estate.

The Industries and Commerce Department also disclosed that under the J&K Industrial Land Allotment Policy 2021-30 and Industrial Policy 2016-26, 207 industrial units owned by non-residents of J&K had been allocated land across various districts of the UT. However, only 11 units belonging to non-residents were allotted land in the past two years under these policies.

Land parcels were also allotted in other regions, with a significant portion in Kathua and Samba districts.

Notably, two parcels were allotted in the once-terror-affected Pulwama district of Kashmir. A four-Kanal plot was granted to Crystal Laundry owner Jyoti Mathur in Pampore.