``We need to open out'' he said on the FDI scene in the housing sector while adding that the Union cabinet was in the process of finalising the proposal to extend FDI in housing sector to `everybody'. He also said ``I think we will allow 100 per cent holding'' while remarking that the existing FDI scheme had raised only Rs 550 crore since 1993 in spite of permitting 100 per cent equity holding.

Earlier in his inaugural address, the minister called for commencement of construction activity in thehousing sector. He said he was disappointed that the government's plan of building two million houses by the year end had not taken off on account of various road blocks such as Land Ceiling Act, plethora of laws, complexity of procedures and bureaucratic apathy.Giving details of the status of the project, he said that only about 1,200 houses so far had been completed in Maharashtra while Hudco had financed about one million houses for which construction activity was yet to commence.

``I am greatly disappointed that things have not moved at the speed at which we wanted'' he said while hoping that the projects would at least take off before the end of the year so that the shortfall could be made up next year.Jethmalani urged the private sector to play a part in housing development and said that the new housing policy recognised the importance of private sector participation.