Thiruvananthapuram, Oct 15 (IANS) The Kerala Cabinet will examine the expert committee report on alleged irregularities in the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and decide what kind of investigation should be ordered, Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan said on Thursday.

Interacting with the media at the Kerala Assembly’s media room, Satheesan said the report had been placed before the Assembly and contained serious findings about the KIIFB’s functioning in the past decade.

“The things pointed out by the expert committee are very grave,” he said, adding that the Cabinet would study the report in detail before deciding on further action.

Satheesan said the committee had identified alleged violations of the Rules of Business, issues relating to payments to consultancy firms, and lapses in land acquisition.

He also pointed out that the Finance Department had no role in the KIIFB’s functioning.

“All that we have been pointing out for the past one decade has come true. Huge losses have been incurred as their borrowings were costlier than what the state government borrows,” the Chief Minister, who also holds the Finance portfolio, said.

He stressed that the report should not be viewed as a political document.

The committee comprised highly qualified experts who had examined the KIIFB’s operations and made recommendations, he said.

The report recommends a major overhaul of the KIIFB, arguing that it should not continue in its present form.

Among its most serious findings are allegations concerning land acquisition in Kannur.

The committee has also questioned the KIIFB’s borrowing practices, saying loans raised at interest rates higher than market rates created an additional annual liability of Rs 396 crore.

It has recommended that the state government take over the KIIFB’s existing liabilities and provide funds through the annual budget for repayment and completion of ongoing projects.

The report further calls for removing borrowing provisions from the KIIFB Act, discontinuing the existing funding arrangement through the motor vehicle tax share and fuel cess, and bringing the KIIFB under the direct control of the state government.

The expert committee, headed by Sudha Pillai, former Member Secretary of the Planning Commission, prepared the report over three months.

Satheesan said the Cabinet would examine the recommendations before deciding on the nature and scope of any probe.

He reiterated that the committee’s findings should be assessed on their merits rather than treated as a political statement.

–IANS

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