THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: In a revelation that could trigger fresh political debates over the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), it has come to light that more than 75% of funds it collected is yet to be repaid.
As per the data presented by Chief Minister V D Satheesan, of the total of Rs 42,193.45 crore that KIIFB mobilised from different lenders since March 2017, only Rs 1,023.71 crore has been repaid so far. “Funds to the tune of Rs 31,681.15 crore, or 75.08 %, are yet to be repaid,” he told the assembly on Monday.
KIIFB had mobilised Rs 42,193.45 crore after comprehensive revisions in the act in 2016. The total amount sanctioned during the period came to Rs 48,559.69 crore. The funds were mobilised mostly through public sector bank term loans and masala bonds with different interest rates, from 7.01% to 9.67%, for different tenures. Some of the initial debts have a tenure of 12 years including a two-year moratorium.
The figures may spell trouble for former finance minister T M Thomas Isaac, as the then opposition UDF had opposed KIIFB, feeling it could pose an additional financial burden on the state. Later, the Comptroller and Auditor General has highlighted that KIIFB’s borrowings bypassed the limits of state’s debt.
The Centre had also decided to include KIIFB’s debt under the state’s borrowing ceiling.
Satheesan said a high-level expert committee constituted by the state government to review the KIIFB is seriously looking into the issuance of masala bonds at a high interest rate. In a written response to a questions from UDF MLAs Mathew Kuzhalnadan, KM Abhijith, KK Rema and Ramesh Pisharody, the CM said the minutes of the 34th general body meeting of KIIFB, held on January 17, 2019, had reportedly recorded that the then chief secretary expressed concerns over the high interest rate.
Satheesan further informed the House that KIIFB mobilised funds to the tune of around Rs 1,023.71 crore through various bonds in 1999, 2002 and 2003. The amount was fully repaid, he said.
