THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) of India has once again flagged the state government’s off-budget borrowings. The State Finance Audit Report for the year ending March 2021 has pegged the overall debt of the state, including OBBs, at Rs 3,24,855.06 crore. As on March 31, Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and Kerala Social Security Pension Limited (KSSPL) had an outstanding liability of Rs 16,469.05 crore.
Of this, KSSPL’s outstanding liabilities amounted to Rs 10,848.61 crore. This was in addition to the liabilities of Rs 3,08,386.01 crore as mentioned in the Finance Accounts 2020-21.The effective total debt was calculated without factoring in the Rs 5,766 crore obtained as back-to-back loan in lieu of GST compensation.
KIIFB has no revenue of its own and the state government has to defray the debt obligations of KIIFB by transferring its own revenue resources through budget every year. As such, these borrowings cannot be treated as contingent liability as claimed by the government, but a direct liability on the state’s own resources, the report said.