White Paper on Kerala finances calls for KIIFB overhaul, forensic audit of accounts

Key points

• The White Paper tabled in the Kerala Assembly by Chief Minister V.D.
• Satheesan on Thursday has recommended a thorough overhaul of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), observing that the institution’s “fundamental premise has been undermined.” The White Paper has recommended a revamp of the KIIFB Act, 2016, and a forensic audit of KIIFB accounts.
• However, it would be “wasteful” to dismantle the KIIFB framework which has built valuable capabilities over the years, the document, ‘Kerala’s Fiscal Health: A Status Report,’ noted.
• These capacities should instead be absorbed into or made available to government departments to improve project preparation and implementation quality, it said.
• “The question is no longer whether KIIFB should continue in its current form - the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) ruling has effectively answered that.