After Satya Niketan tragedy, Delhi CM Rekha Gupta announces 10,000-bed hostels for students

The Chief Minister said the proposed facilities would focus not only on increasing the number of available beds but also on providing students with a supportive living environment.

In Short

• Proposed hostels will serve male and female students from colleges
• Delhi government identifies sites, begins drafting a hostel policy
• CM Rekha Gupta says safer housing will let students focus on studies

Chief Minister Rekha Gupta on Tuesday announced that the Delhi government has initiated plans to build hostel facilities for 10,000 students, in a move aimed at expanding access to safe, secure and affordable accommodation for those coming to the national capital for higher education. The decision comes days after seven students were killed in a PG building collapse in Satya Niketan.

The proposed hostels will accommodate both male and female students enrolled in colleges and universities in Delhi.

"If we envision Delhi as a major education hub, we must meet the need for hostels alongside colleges and universities," Gupta said in a video message.

She noted that lakhs of students travel to Delhi for education every year and often face difficulties in finding suitable hostel accommodation even after securing admission.

The Chief Minister said the proposed facilities would focus not only on increasing the number of available beds but also on providing students with a supportive living environment.

The CM said the government has already held discussions with departments capable of undertaking the construction, identified suitable sites and started work on framing a policy covering the facilities and amenities to be provided.

"We have held meetings with various departments capable of constructing hostels, identified suitable locations, and begun drafting a policy that addresses the students' needs and the amenities to be provided within these hostels," she added.

The government, she said, wants to ensure that students and their families do not have to worry about accommodation, food and safety while pursuing their studies.

"Parents of students arriving from different states across the country can leave their children with complete peace of mind," Gupta said, adding that the aim was to allow students to concentrate on their academic goals rather than housing-related concerns.

THE SATYA NIKETAN TRAGEDY

The announcement comes amid renewed scrutiny of student accommodation in Delhi following the recent collapse of a building being used as private paying-guest accommodation in Satya Niketan, in which seven students were killed.

The incident triggered demands for stronger safety measures and greater availability of institutional hostels for students, many of whom depend on private PGs, rented rooms and shared housing because of limited hostel capacity.

DU TO DOUBLE HOSTEL SEATS

The push by the Delhi government also coincides with efforts by the University of Delhi (DU) to significantly expand its own residential infrastructure.

DU currently has 3,422 hostel seats, while its colleges have 3,788. Ongoing and planned projects are expected to raise the university's capacity to 7,344 seats and that of its colleges to 5,410, taking the combined capacity to 12,754.

With the Delhi government now working on locations and a policy framework for its proposed 10,000-bed facilities, the next steps are expected to include finalising sites, construction plans and eligibility norms before the projects are taken forward.

- Ends