Residents of Chandigarh Housing Board (CHB) houses today came together to press for their demands under the banner of CHB Residents Federation here. CHB Residents Federation is an apex body of 45 welfare associations across city.

The city MP, Mr Pawan Kumar Bansal who was the chief guest on the occasion said he would take up the demands raised by the residents with the CHB authorities.

Residents of CHB and Tenement Colonies assembled peacefully for one hour at eleven different venues in the city. 

Nirmal Dutt, Chairman of the Federation said the first allotment of CHB houses was made in 1979. In these last 34 years, the number of the CHB allottees has grown to about 50,000 and 90 percent of the residents have made changes in their houses which are ‘illegal constructions’ in view of the prevailing bye-laws. 

Dutt added the Board Authorities must realize that the lower middle-class who constitute an overwhelming majority of the CHB Residents, have used the hard-earned money to accommodate their growing children by making need-based changes in their houses. When every other day, the slum-dwellers are being rehabilitated with public money, is it right to raze to ground the structures made by the self-helping honest people, he added.