Thiruvananthapuram : Responding to adjournment motion by VS Satheeshan, Finance Minister Thomas Isaac on Wednesday told the House that the Opposition can decide in favour or against CAG notion that KIIFB is unconstitutional.
KIIFB-based expenditure figures at Rs 7300 crore. By end of March, KIIFB will have financed a minimal of Rs 12,000 crores towards projects. The development envisaged is unprecedented and the kind of transformation Kerala will undergo when these projects complete is unimaginable, said Minister Isaac. CAG is try to preach Schedule 7. One wonders how it possible to write reports like they did?, said Thomas Isaac.
The Opposition’s onslaught against KIIFB will be laid open to public. Let UDF tell people if our state requires KIIFB projects or should do away with them. Loans availed from KIIFB are backed by government guarantee. UDF knows well that BJP govt has got constitutional establishments to play their second fiddle, said the minister.
It is not State govt that subscribes to Masala Bonds. Rather a corporate body established by this legislative assembly plays that role. The Central govt made its law as per Article 246. And as per the FEMA(Federal Emergency Management Agency) law of the centre, the body corporate formulated under Assembly has this right. In all these debates on the topic, does RBI at any point say there exists no such right, the minister asked.
The tiny state of Kerala is relaying a powerful message on the world stage. It shows to the world how a infrastructure company by the name of KIIFB on its landscape meets borrowing needs arising out of here, It has been decided to mobilise funds to the tune of Rs 60,000 crores for state development. And the said message also underscores the fact there exists such capacity here, said Isaac.
The Finance Minister dismissed CAG claims that borrowings exceeded budget. The state govt maintains that its borrowings never crossed budget. The expenditures were met with loans availed from KIIFB, the minister explained.
The KIIFB Board of Directors are not government’s yes-men. All decisions are arrived at after extensive discussions at meetings. Surely we are all able to see the phenomenal changes KIIFB has brought about in the state. The sore point plaguing Opposition is that the incumbent government too gets credited for all these developments. That’s the reason why they come up with such unfounded arguments, said the minister.
