Thiruvananthapuram: The Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has started a special audit on Kerala Urban and Rural Development Finance Corporation (KURDFC) that funds the LIFE Mission activities to build free houses for the homeless. It has started collecting information from the State Finance Department.
If the CAG includes the KURDFC’s borrowings of Rs 6,000 crore also under the State’s account, there would further be a decrease of the same amount from the State’s borrowing limit with the Centre.
The KURDFC is a financial enterprise of the State Government. It has borrowed about Rs 6,000 crore from HUDCO and other agencies, so far. Three-fourth of the amount has been handed over to the LIFE Mission.
The CAG scanner was on the Kerala Infrastructure and Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and Kerala Social Security Pension Limited (KSSPL) for its off-budget borrowings. Earlier, the Rs 14,000 crore borrowed by KIIFB and KSSPL were added to the State’s total debt.
The CAG was the first to recommend that the borrowings on behalf of KIIFB and KSSPL must also be considered as the State’s debt. After this, the Central Government cut down the State’s borrowing limit by Rs 14,000 crore considering the borrowings made by KIIFB and KSSPL. Though the total debt of Kerala during 2020–21 was at Rs 3.08 lakh crore, the CAG rectified its report by adding Rs 16,496 crore as ‘off-budget borrowings’, making the total debt of the State Government Rs 3.24 lakh crore.
More than 5.64 lakh people await homes
Thiruvananthapuram: As many as 5,64,091 have been listed in the revised draft for those eligible for a house under the LIFE Mission project. While 3,66,570 of the lot are homeless land owners, 1,97,521 are homeless and landless. This includes 1,14,557 from the Scheduled Caste communities and 16,661 from the Scheduled Tribe communities.
The final list would be published on August 16 after making the changes recommended by the respective Grama Sabhas.
Under the LIFE Mission project, houses are being built using its own funds and those loaned by the KURDFC. These borrowings are being repaid from the development grant allotted to the local self-governance institutions.
(LIFE denotes Livelihood Inclusion Financial Empowerment.)
