Govt unaware of land given 'free of cost' to Sri Lankan cricketer, says J&K minister

Jammu: Jammu and Kashmir Agriculture Production Minister Javid Ahmad Dar stated on Saturday that the government has no knowledge of any land being granted 'free of cost' to a former Sri Lankan cricketer in the Union Territory. He assured that the matter would be looked into.

Dar's statement came during the legislative assembly session when CPM legislator M Y Tarigami and Congress legislature party leader G A Mir raised concerns over reports of land allotment to a foreign cricketer.

"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.

Reports indicate that former Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan’s company, Ceylon Beverages, has been allocated 25.75 acres of land in Kathua for a ₹1,600 crore bottle-filling and aluminium can-manufacturing facility.

Without naming anyone, Tarigami questioned the alleged free land allotment and demanded a response from the government. Congress leader Mir also called the issue “serious” and sought clarification on how a non-Indian cricketer was granted land without cost.

Meanwhile, Dar highlighted that landless families are being allotted five marlas of land for residential construction under the Pradhan Mantri Awas Yojana (PMAY), subject to verification by the revenue department.

"The land is provided subject to the verification by the revenue department," Dar said.

He informed that 498 families have received land under the Awaas-Plus category of PMAY-G across the UT, while 442 applications are under review. Of the 3,673 cases filed, 2,727 were rejected.

He said the extended families of the landless are likely to be considered for allotment subject to eligibility.

PTI