THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: The state cabinet on Wednesday ordered a detailed vigilance inquiry into procedural lapses in land acquisition worth crores of rupees through the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) in Kannur district. The finance and revenue departments will provide technical assistance to probe, an official statement said.
The decision comes a day after Chief Minister V D Satheesan told the assembly that all KIIFB transactions, including land purchases in Kannur, would be scrutinised. Replying to the discussion on demand for grants on Tuesday, he said every project funded by taxpayers’ money would come under the scanner.
The CM said much of the 1,000 acres purchased in Kannur was unusable. An attempt to mortgage the land revealed that its value was only a fraction of the amount paid for it. In addition, a Section 11(1) notification was issued in 2021 to acquire another 4,000 acres at an estimated cost of Rs 12,000 crore. With 12% annual interest, the outlay would now touch `15,000 crore, he said.
He said the finance department had advised against the government extending a sovereign guarantee for KIIFB borrowings in 2022, but a meeting chaired by the then CM overruled it, he said.
