Panel headed by Sudha Pillai to study Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board revamp
The Kerala government on Monday constituted a committee headed by retired IAS officer Sudha Pillai to examine the existing framework of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment
The Kerala government on Monday constituted a committee headed by retired IAS officer Sudha Pillai to examine the existing framework of the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and recommend a ‘comprehensive restructuring plan.’ The five-member panel headed by Ms. Pillai has as its members Shyam Srinivasan, former managing director and chief executive officer, Federal Bank; Nilesh Vikamsey, former chairman, Association of Chartered Accountants of India and partner, KKC and Associates; retired IA&AS officer H. Shubhalakshmi Narayanan, former director, Audit Board of the Comptroller and Auditor General of India; and retired IAS officer Tarun Bajaj, former Revenue Secretary, Government of India.
The tenure of the committee is three months from the date of the July 13 order. Its terms of the reference include examining the objectives, mandate and role envisaged for KIIFB under the original project and reviewing the changes made subsequently to the original project, institutional framework and operational mandate and assessing their implications. The panel will also examine the resource mobilisation strategy adopted by KIIFB, including borrowing instruments, and whether it complied with Constitutional, legal, financial and audit requirements, and identify any irregularities or systemic deficiencies. Further, the panel will examine whether the utilisation of KIIFB funds has been directed towards addressing “critical infrastructure gaps,” and whether the resource allocation has been equitable across districts and sectors based on developmental priorities.
The panel will also recommend measures for restructuring KIIFB, redeploying its institutional capacities within the government, in addition to recommending future courses of action regarding subsidiary or spin-off entities established by KIIFB. Comprehensive review The Finance department order creating the panel noted that the government had decided to undertake a comprehensive review of the institutional, financial, governance and operational framework of KIIFB with a view to “strengthening its long-term sustainability, improving governance standards and enhancing its capacity to support the State’s infrastructure development.” The government has also constituted an ‘internal coordination and Secretariat mechanism’ for the facilitating the work of the committee.
It has as its convener the Additional Chief Secretary (Finance). Transport secretary Anupama T.V.; Sachin Kumar Yadav, Officer on Special Duty to the Finance department, and Thilakan K.P.K., Additional Private Secretary to Chief Minister V.D. Satheesan are its members.
The BriefWire