MAJOR RESTRUCTURING OF HUDCO ON THE ANVIL: ANANTH KUMAR
NEW SUBSIDIARY ‘HUDCO NIWAS’
TO BE CREATED
32nd
ANNUAL DAY OF HUDCO OBSERVED
Minister for Urban Development
& Poverty Alleviation Shri Ananth Kumar has announced that
major restructuring of Housing and Urban Development Corporation
(HUDCO) involving decentralisation of power, nationally competitive
interest regime, simplified procedures of sanction and disbursal
of loans would be introduced. Speaking at the 32nd
Annual Day of HUDCO here today, Shri Ananth Kumar said that a
new subsidiary of HUDCO, known as ‘HUDCO Niwas’ would also be
created so as to expedite the process of housing activities in
the country.
Shri Ananth Kumar also said
that the authorized capital of HUDCO has recently been increased
from rupees 1250 crore to rupees 2500 crore. The increased equity
available with HUDCO will enable it to leverage 8 times more funds
in the market in the shape of market borrowings and from other
financial institutions and banks, public deposits etc. which will
enable it to enhance considerably its level of funding operations
for housing and urban infrastructure projects. Since earlier the
authorized capital was fully subscribed, enhancing the authorized
capital will enable Government of India to infuse more equity
into HUDCO. This will also enable HUDCO to fulfill its social
mandate of constructing housing for the economically weaker sections
of society where HUDCO lends at lower rate of interest as compared
to the market prevailing rates.
Shri Ananth Kumar pointed out
that the Government has recently approved the upgradation of HUDCO
from a Schedule ‘B’ to a Schedule ‘A’ Public Sector Enterprise
in view of its performance in the housing and urban infrastructure
sectors. In the field of urban infrastructure HUDCO has emerged
as the market leader in providing institutional finance support
to urban infrastructure., the Government has upgraded it to Schedule
‘A’ status.
Minister for Rural Development
Shri M.Venkaiah Naidu emphasised the need for changing the mind
set of the people and creating positive discrimination in favour
of rural areas in order to bridge the rural-urban divide. Stating
that due to a strong urban bias in our system, adequate infrastructure
facilities could not be provided in the rural areas resulting
in the exodus of population towards cities, which is a major cause
for growth of urban slums and urban unemployment . He also stressed
that HUDCO should link the grant and disbursal of loans for urban
infrastructure and housing with the performance of municipalities
and local bodies.
In his presidential address,
Minister of State for Urban Development and Poverty Alleviation
Shri Bandaru Dattatraya pointed out that Prime Minister Shri Atal
Bihari Vajpayee has launched Valmiki Ambedkar Awas Yojana (VAMBAY)
to benefit especially those belonging to the scheduled castes,
scheduled tribes, backward classes, and other weaker sections
of the society. The VAMBAY primarily aims at providing shelter
or upgrade the existing shelter for people living below the poverty
line in urban slums, with a view to achieving the goal of ‘Housing
for All’ as outlined in the National Housing and Habitat Policy
and the National Agenda for Governance within a definite time
frame.
