Chandigarh: Former Union Minister and local M.P. Pawan Kumar Bansal has strongly supported the demand of the residents of Chandigarh Housing Board against its decision to impose penalty on them for any alleged 'violation'.

In a statement Bansal said that thousands of CHB flat owners are in a state of mind no less painful than a trauma and are forced to take the road against an unrealistic order by the Board.

Bansal, while expressing solidarity with the residents, assured them total support in their fight against an unjust diktat of the Housing Board.

"The Chandigarh Housing Board is being unreasonable .The problems of the residents are genuine and the Board should address the same and regularise the additional construction made in small flats out of sheer necessity" Bansal said. In over 95 percent of the cases the owners have improved significantly over the original construction done by the CHB, Bansal added. This issue was also taken up by the Congress at its Block Committee meeting yesterday.