Projects exclusively for SC/ST development accounted for just 0.18% of total KIIFB expenditure: Expert Committee

As on 30 June 2026, KIIFB has approved ten projects for SC/ST development with an outlay of ₹182 crore. | Photo credit: FILE

Allocations for Scheduled Caste (SC) and Scheduled Tribe (ST) communities were abysmally low, according to the Kerala Infrastructure Investment Fund Board (KIIFB), a committee headed by former bureaucrat Sudha Pillai that conducted a comprehensive review of KIIFB found.

A mere 0.18% of KIIFB sanctioned expenditure and 0.21% of released amount was allocated to projects exclusively for SC/ST development, found the committee, whose report was presented in the assembly by Chief Minister VD Satheesan on Thursday.

The Committee found that as on 30 June 2026, KIIFB had sanctioned ten projects for the development of SC/ST with an expenditure of ₹ 182 crore, which was roughly 0.18% of the total sanctioned amount. Of this, only ₹87 crore was released, which is roughly 0.21% of the total amount released by KIIFB for projects.

When compared to the statutory benchmark of 12.64% of the plan expenditure prescribed for the Scheduled Caste Sub Plan (SCSP) and Tribal Sub Plan (TSP) combined, that only 0.18% of the sanctioned expenditure of KIIFB and 0.21% of the amount released by KIIFB was allocated to projects exclusively for SC/ST development is of concern, according to the panel.

The absence of an “express and enforceable provision of equity” comparable to the SCSP/TSP mechanism is a policy gap that deserves the attention of the Finance Department and the State Planning Board.

The Committee did not find any provision requiring that the infrastructure investment financed by the KIIFB be allocated in proportions similar to those prescribed in the sub-plans. “Had KIIFB infrastructure expenditure been subject to a binding allocation requirement comparable to that applicable under SCSP/TSP, SC/ST development would have received a substantially larger share of KIIFB resources than it actually received,” he said.

For the protection of SC/ST communities, Kerala’s five-year plans include the SCSP and TSP, which require allocation of resources from the state plan expenditure in proportion to the proportion of SC/ST populations. Together (SCSP 9.81% and STP 2.83%) they constitute at least 12.64% of the total expenditure of the plan.

Published – 16 Oct 2026 16:11 IST