What is the row around ‘land allotted to Muttiah Muralitharan’ in Jammu and Kashmir | Explained News

What is the controversy over land allotment to Muttiah Muralitharan?

Five-time CPI(M) MLA from Kulgam, MY Tarigami, without naming Muralitharan, said in the Assembly that “a Sri Lankan cricketer has been allotted land in Jammu and Kashmir”, asking how this was done when “land is not available for locals to construct houses under the Prime Minister Awas Yojna (PMAY)”.

He was joined in the issue by G A Mir, a three-time Congress MLA from Dooru, asking the government how a non-Indian cricketer was allotted land in J&K, terming it a “serious issue”.

The plot is in Kathua district’s Bhagthali Industrial Estate.

Who is eligible for land under the J&K Industrial Land Allotment Policy 2021-30?

Any individual or person, including a group of individuals under the Indian Partnership Act, 1932, or a company registered under the Companies Act, 2013, or Limited Liability Partnership Act, 2008, or Corporate Institution, or Hindu Undivided Family (HUF) under Section 2(31) of the Income Tax Act, 1961, or a body incorporated under any Act is eligible.

The land is allotted for establishing an industrial enterprise/unit, and application has to be made following procedure prescribed by the J&K government.

Was the land allotted to Muralitharan?

A total of 206 kanals (25.75 acres) of land was allotted to M/s Ceylon Beverages Can Pvt. Ltd., and not to Muttiah Muralitharan as an individual, by the J&K State Industrial Development Corporation (SIDCO) on June 1, 2024. Muralitharan is one of the three directors of the firm.

M/s Ceylon Beverages was incorporated as a private limited company and registered with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Chennai, on January 11, 2023. The other two directors are Nithya Ramamurthy and Muthiah Sasidaran, whose names figure at serial number 1 and 3 respectively in the list of Board of Directors of the company.

Was the land allotted for free?

SIDCO executed the lease deed on June 16, 2024, only after the company made the full payment of Rs 16.48 crore.

The company was to set up a unit for aluminum beverage cans and the filling of beverages in PET (Polyethylene Terephthalate) bottles and cans, with a direct employment potential of 950 persons and proposing an investment of Rs 1642.75 crore (based on the exchange rate of Rs 82.79 per USD as of March 9, 2024).

The UT’s Apex Level Land Allotment Committee on March 15, 2024, approved allotment of land based on the merit list, and placed it in the public domain inviting objections.

How was the merit list determined?

On the basis of the proposed investment per kanal, coupled with the plant’s potential of employment generation per kanal.

M/s Ceylon Beverages figured first in the order of merit among the 22 applicants examined. It was proposing an investment of Rs 7.975 crore per kanal and an employment potential of 4.612 employees per kanal. The lowest ranked case had an investment of Rs 2.035 crore per kanal and an employment potential of 0.463 employees per kanal.

What is the J&K Industrial Policy?

To promote industry and generate jobs in Jammu and Kashmir, the Centre approved a new industrial development scheme with a total outlay of Rs 28,400 crore. The scheme offered incentives such as subsidy on capital investment and GST on purchase of plant and machinery, and working capital as loan from financial institutions for the next 10 years.

To avail these incentives, the industrial entrepreneur had to first get the land allotted from SIDCO and then set up the industrial unit. The policy was aimed at giving direct and indirect employment to about 4.5 lakh people.

Who was eligible for the financial incentives and from when?

These incentives were available to only those entrepreneurs who, after allotment of land, got their units registered with the industries department on or after April 1, 2021.

The scheme was to continue till this Central money ( Rs 28,400 crore) was completely locked for industrial units getting registered. However, these incentives were payable to them over the next 10 years from the day they started production.

Did M/s Ceylon Beverages get any incentive?

No, because after the allotment of land in July 2024, the company had to get itself registered with the industries department to qualify for the incentives. As it involved foreign investment, the investment had to come through RBI and DPIIT, based on the guiding framework on FDI issued by the Government of India. It took the company time and the Rs 28,400 crore was exhausted completely with the registration of 971 industrial units.

What is the status of the land allotted to M/s Ceylon Beverages?

The company on March 6 surrendered the land to J&K SIDCO in view of the delay in completion of codal formalities to get the unit registered.

According to the J&K Industrial Land Allotment Policy, if an allottee surrenders the land within two years after the execution of lease deed, the allotment shall be cancelled and the allottee shall be refunded 80 per cent of the amount paid.