There is a shortage of housing of over 20 million dwelling units in both rural and urban areas. The investment required to achieve the National dream of everybody owning a home is estimated to be around Rs.400,000 crores including cost of civil infrastructure like water supply, sanitation, electricity, roads etc. Till a decade or two ago, the responsibility of providing housing and urban infrastructure was left to the Improvement Trusts/Housing Boards/Development Authorities. However, it was observed that despite best efforts, they have not been able to meet the challenges and expectations of the public. There is a shift in the approach to encourage more competitive participation of private sector in housing and civil infrastructure development. Following this trend, Delhi-based real estate developer, Ansal Housing and Construction Ltd will develop houses for the economically weaker sections (EWS) of the society at Ashiana Colony in Lucknow. The company will develop a total of 2,352 houses for the EWS sections of the society, which will be constructed under the scheme of 'Mayavar Kanshi Ramji Nagar Awas Yojna'. The company has been awarded the contract worth Rs 48.5 crore by the Lucknow Development Authority (LDA). These houses will be developed by December 2008. Also, concerned over the rising shortage of housing in India, the National Housing Bank (NHB) has announced the launch of pro-poor housing finance schemes in India.