KIIFB will be able to repay all loans: Thomas Isaac

THIRUVANANTHAPURAM: Finance minister Thomas Isaac made it clear that for the loans taken by Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB),), there will be no burden for repayment on the state government.
Allaying the fears raised by opposition over the loans taken by KIIFB for completing the project, the finance minister said that the revenue generated by KIIFB each year alone will be sufficient for repaying the loan.
“At present the revenue for KIIFB is from the one percent cess on petrol and 10% of the tax collected from the motor vehicles which increases each year. In 2017-18 we are planning to take Rs 5,000 crore and the revenue generated by KIIFB during this period will be Rs 1,078 crore. Currently, the KIIFB has Rs 1,600 crore in hand,’’ said Isaac, while replying to the debate over the budget presented for the year 2017-18 in the Assembly.
The government is planning to take Rs 5,000 cr for loan with a moratorium of three years and for a repayment period of seven years. Hence, the loan repayment begins only from the fourth year. At the end of seven years the KIIFB will have nearly Rs 10,000 crore from revenue alone. “Hence, the repayment will be purely the responsibility of KIIFB and there should not be any concern on this. We have just calculated the present revenue sources of KIIFB. But when GST is implemented the revenue deficit of the state is going to come down considerably. Hence the income generating schemes are going to be more implemented once the revenue collection picks up,’’ said the finance minister.
By the financial year 2020-21, the funds for the loan repayment will be available in KIIFB and the interest for the loan taken will be 9.5%. It is not going to be a liability for the next government which willsucceed after the five-year tenure of this government, he said in response to the fears raised by V D Satheesan that the next government will have to bear the burden.
Opposition leader Ramesh Chennithala who was not ready to accept the KIIFB termed it as a dream of the finance minister. “A dream cannot be converted into a reality through magic. Isaac has done this through his budget which is not going to succeed,’’ said Ramesh.
The budget has announced various proposals to the tune of Rs 4,000 crore through KIIFB when it has only Rs 1,600 crore in hand. “It is going to be like the projects announced by Isaac earlier in his budgets of desilting of dams and Islamic bank,’’ said the opposition leader.