By: Staff Writer
March 10, Colombo (LNW): Sri Lankan cricket legend, one of the greatest spinners in the history Muttiah Muralitharan’s, Ceylon Beverage pulls out of Rs 1,650 crore investment in Jammu and Kashmir After waiting for some time, Muralitharan decided to shift the plant to Pune. He applied for backing out of the investment proposal on March 6, officials said.
After waiting for some time, Muralitharan decided to shift the plant to Pune. He applied for backing out of the investment proposal on March 6, officials said.
A day after the allotment of “free land” to former Sri Lankan cricketer Muttiah Muralitharan’s M/s Ceylon Beverage sparked controversy in Jammu and Kashmir, it was revealed that the company has pulled out from an over Rs 1,650 crore investment in Kat…
The withdrawal was due to the expiration of incentives under the 2021 National Sector Industrial Policy, which ended in September last year. On Saturday, opposition lawmakers in the J&K Assembly raised concerns over the 26-acre land allotment for Muralitharan’s beverage company in Kathua, questioning why land was given “free of cost” to outsiders when locals were denied land for housing under the Prime Minister’s Awas Yojana (PMAY).
Land has to be allotted as per the laid norms to any person whosoever apply for land for commercial purposes,” he said and alleged that no money had been charged from the cricketer’s company for the allotment.
However, official records show that the land was allotted at ₹64 lakh per acre, with an annual lease of ₹60,000 for the establishment of M/s Ceylon Beverage Can Pvt. Ltd, which is registered in Chennai and already operates a unit in Mysore.
Sri Lankan beverages company Ceylon Beverage Can Pvt Ltd, promoted by Muttiah Muralitharan, will set up a full-fledged plant in Mummigatti off Dharwad in Karnataka, Deccan Herald (DH) reported in 2023 .
The Karnataka Industrial Area Development Board (KIADB) has allotted 16.70 acres of land at plot no 157, 2.64 acres on plot no 156 and 6.15 acres on plot no 158. Clearance has also been accorded for providing 3,000 kVA power by Hescom and 20 lakh litres of water per day.
The Sri Lankan company currently manufactures eight different sizes of slim, sleek and standard cans with a range of customer labels. It is setting up a plant in India owing to huge demand from this region.
In May 2023, Ceylon Beverage tied up with Reliance Consumer Products to manufacture the cans for Campa soft drink.
Ceylon Beverages was established in 2020 and partners with several companies making mineral water, energy drinks, soft drinks and flavoured milk in cans. It has an hourly output of over 48,000 cans and 34,000 bottles. The company’s plant is equipped to fill 300 million cans per year.
