The Housing and Urban Development Corporation Limited (HUDCO) wants to focus on housing for the economically weaker sections. On Tuesday, its Chairman and Managing Director V. P. Baligar said the organisation has upped its performance in the social housing sector, and is keen to do more. “We are in discussions with the government of Rajasthan for a special scheme of housing for the urban poor. We will extend support to the Rajasthan government. Some other State governments are also looking to borrow from us for developing housing for the poor. Sikkim wants to develop a new township with a new airport; Shillong, too, wants to develop a new township; a loan of Rs. 700 crore has been sanctioned for Naya Raipur,” said Mr. Baligar. It also plans to raise approximately Rs. 10,000 crore through tax-free bonds and some other instruments this fiscal year, to fund business expansion, Mr. Baligar said, presenting the financial results of the company. Listing the achievements in the past year in the housing sector, especially for the economically weaker sections, Mr. Baligar said as part of the efforts to address the housing requirements of weaker sections, a significant emphasis was laid on housing for the economically weaker sections (EWS) and low-income groups (LIG), and during 2011-12, HUDCO sanctioned 4.07 lakh housing units for affordable housing, including EWS and LIG categories, which constituted approximately 96.44 per cent of the total units sanctioned during the year. “This is the highest number of units sanctioned for weaker sections during the last seven years. The number of units sanctioned for weaker sections registered 47.46 per cent growth in 2011-12, as compared to the number sanctioned in 2010-11 (2.76 lakh units).” The HUDCO CMD said it is also eyeing the sector of housing for the urban poor, and wants the National Housing Bank (NHB) to set up an urban housing fund. “The fund can then be used to set up houses for the urban poor,” he said. While pointing out that HUDCO has registered a growth rate of 35 per cent in disbursement in 2011-12, and the highest level of gross profit of Rs. 937.91 crore, Mr. Baligar admitted that the foray into the energy sector has been far from satisfactory. “In the power sector, two of our projects — the Maheshwar Hydel Project and the natural gas-based green field power project being promoted by Konaseema EPS Oakwell Power Limited in Andhra Pradesh — turned into non-performing assets. The Maheshwar Dam is ready, but cannot store water because of environmental clearance issues. We are hoping there will be some relief this year on that front; we have already had discussions on the issue. The plant in Andhra Pradesh hasn't been functioning because of the gas shortage in the KG Basin,” he said. With both the projects being major contributors to the NPA, Mr. Baligar said the Board has decided to bring down the exposure to private power projects. On the overall performance of the Corporation, Mr. Baligar said it has improved. “In terms of the MoU entered for the year 2011-12, with the Ministry of Housing and Urban Poverty Alleviation, Government of India, HUDCO has substantially achieved the targets relating to operational, financial and sector-specific parameters, and is likely to achieve ‘excellent' rating for overall performance for the year. The ‘excellent' rating is being achieved after a gap of seven years,” he said. Shillong and Sikkim to develop new townships; Rs.700 crore sanctioned for Naya Raipur. The number of units sanctioned for weaker sections registered a 47.46 per cent growth