Muralitharan to Emaar, big players queue for land to set up shop in Jammu and Kashmir

While Jammu has received fewer applications at 1,902, it appears to be attracting larger industrial units, with a total land requirement of 39,484.94 kanals (equivalent to 4,935.61 acres). A lot of the land in demand is in Kathua district, given its proximity to neighbouring Punjab and Himachal Pradesh. The Kashmir Valley, with 5,007 applications, has seen proposals for medium and small ventures, with a total land requirement of 29,375.89 kanals (3,671.98 acres).

These ventures, officials said, could generate employment for 4,69,545 people — 2,17,760 in Jammu and 2,51,785 in Kashmir.

Green shoots

In the past one year, investments over Rs 21,000 crore have already percolated to the ground in Jammu division, including 15 large projects with an investment of Rs 14,594 crore in Kathua’s Bhagthali Industrial Estate that have either started production or are nearing completion, said Director of Jammu’s Industries and Commerce Department, Dr Arun Kumar Manhas. Other projects include:

📌 Muralitharan’s Ceylon Beverages which, Manhas said, has been allotted 206 kanals 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 on June 14, he said, adding that the process of soil testing is underway. According to the company’s profile online, it is the largest beverage processing, filling and exporting entity in Sri Lanka, offering contract filling services to clients such as Coca-Cola and Nestle.

📌 Kandhari Beverages has been allotted 288 kanals of land to set up a Rs 1,100 crore pet bottling plant, he said, adding that construction has begun.

📌 Welspun Group, manufacturers of Sintex water tanks, and Haldiram have been allotted land to set up their units in Kathua at an investment of Rs 850 crore and Rs 585 crore respectively. The former is also looking for land to establish a residential colony for its employees, officials said.

📌 Bloomtex is setting up a textile manufacturing unit at a cost of Rs 300 crore, and the first phase is underway, they said.

📌 UAE-based Emaar Group, developer of the Burj Khalifa, has been allotted land for construction of a shopping mall and an IT tower in Srinagar, and another IT tower in Jammu, which would bring in Rs 500 crore in FDI, officials said.

There are also industrial units coming up in Kathua district’s Ghati, which was the first fully developed industrial estate after the formulation of the new industrial policy by the administration in 2021. The manufacturing units include pharmaceuticals, PET preform, BOPP, shrink films, packaging, textiles and beverages (both aerated drinks and juices), officials said, adding that proposals have also come for establishment of multipurpose parks.

Wanted: Land

On the banks of the Ravi river, the uneven landscape with wild foliage has transformed into a fully developed industrial estate.

In the adjoining Samba district, the National Highways Authority of India has sought land to set up a logistics park. “We have shown them 810 kanals of land in Vijaypur,” officials said.

To woo investors and generate employment, officials said the UT administration came up with an industrial policy on April 1, 2021, offering incentives such as subsidy on capital investment and GST on purchase of plant and machinery, and working capital taken as loan from financial institutions.

Such has been the rush of investors that the Union Territory has started looking for more land to accommodate them. At Bhagthali Industrial Estate in Kathua, the Industries Department has 800 kanals of land at its disposal, including 480 kanals as a chunk, sources said.

J&K’s Lt Governor Manoj Sinha, while addressing a function in Srinagar last month, had said that the industrialisation in the UT got a boost following the new industrial policy, but some land issues will be resolved soon.

Sources said the UT administration has identified 5,000 kanals of state land near Panjgrain and the process to transfer it to the Industries Department is in progress. Similarly, 400 kanals of state land has been identified at Gurha Slathia in Samba and the process has been initiated for its transfer to the department.