Land allotted to Sri Lankan cricket coach Muralitharan shakes J-K Assembly, minister says will look into it

Sources said that Cevlon Beverages has been allotted 206 kanals (25.75 acres) of land to set up a Rs 1,600-crore aluminium cans manufacturing and beverages filling unit in Kathua. The lease deed was executed with the department in June last year.

Without naming Muralitharan, CPI(M) legislator M Y Tarigami, during the Question Hour, pointed out that “a Sri Lankan cricketer has been allotted land in J&K. How has this allotment been made?’’

Questioning how a non-Indian cricketer was allotted land in J-K, Congress MLA G A Mir said, “This is a serious issue and needs to be looked into.’’

Responding to the legislators’ concerns, Agriculture Minister Javed Ahmad Dar said that the government has no information that a former Sri Lankan cricketer was provided land “free of cost” in the UT to set up an industrial unit and that he would look into it.

“This is a matter related to the revenue department. We do not have any information, and we will look into it to know the facts,” he said.

Earlier, in written reply to a question by Tarigami, the Minister for Health & Medical Education, School Education, Higher Education and Social Welfare Departments, Sakeen Masood (Itoo) had said that the landless families are being provided five marlas (1,355 sq ft) of land for the construction of residential houses under Prime Minister Awas Yojna (PMAY).

Pointing out that the land is provided subject to verification by the Revenue Department, she said that the extended families of the landless background are likely to be considered for land allotment subject to eligibility and guidelines of the scheme being issued from time to time.

As Tarigami contested the minister’s reply that the compensation to the people whose land is under acquisition is determined as per provisions of the Land Acquisition, Rehabilitation and Resettlement Act, 2013 which is under implementation in J-K, BJP MLA referred to a court ruling that compensation has to be paid even to people occupying state land.

To this, Mir said that to speak of state land, people have been divested of even their “ownership’’ land without any compensation during the past few years.

With PTI inputs