Thiruvananthapuram: Leader of the opposition Pinarayi Vijayan on Friday accused UDF govt of backing what he described as Centre’s agenda to undermine KIIFB, which, he said, had helped drive Keralam’s development.Vijayan said the Sudha Pillai committee report on Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB) and chief minister’s support for its findings amounted to a “declaration of war” on Keralam. He alleged that the report tabled in the assembly merely reproduced baseless charges made by chief minister.LDF govt had used KIIFB to fast-track infrastructure projects that could otherwise have taken decades to complete, Vijayan said. Those who had once ridiculed the institution were now trying to destroy it after seeing its success, he alleged.He said KIIFB had approved projects worth nearly Rs 1 lakh crore by securitising future revenue, while development works worth Rs 40,000 crore, including schools, hospitals and bridges, had been completed. The extra-budgetary resource mobilisation had changed Keralam’s development profile and enabled higher allocations for health, education and welfare through the state budget, he said.Vijayan criticised the argument that KIIFB was making unprofitable investments, saying it reflected a neoliberal approach that treated spending on education, healthcare and housing as unproductive.He said KIIFB was funding land acquisition for Kochi-Bengaluru Industrial Corridor and GIFT City, besides projects such as Kochi Water Metro, Transgrid, K-FON and the rehabilitation of Chooralmala and Mundakkai landslide affected. He warned that ending KIIFB would hurt social welfare and essential public services. He asked UDF to spell out an alternative for capital investment in Keralam.
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