New Delhi: Delhi University on Thursday announced plans to substantially expand hostel infrastructure, with the combined residential capacity of the university and its affiliated colleges set to rise to 12,754 seats, days after a private hostel building collapse in Satya Niketan claimed seven lives.
The move comes amid renewed concerns over the shortage of safe and affordable student accommodation, which has forced a large number of students, particularly those from outside Delhi, to depend on private paying guest facilities and rented accommodation around the university’s campuses.
According to the university, DU currently has 3,422 hostel seats, with another 3,922 seats being added, taking its total capacity to 7,344. Its affiliated colleges currently have around 3,788 seats, with another 1,622 seats planned, taking their combined capacity to 5,410.
Once the ongoing and proposed projects are completed, the university and its colleges will have a total of 12,754 hostel seats, DU said.
Among the major projects under construction is a 1,450-seat Institute of Eminence hostel at the Dhaka Complex, which is expected to be completed shortly. A 1,000-seat Nirbhaya Residential Accommodation for women and a 1,050-seat studio apartment complex are also being developed.
The university said the expansion was the result of efforts undertaken over the past four to five years and would more than double the number of hostel seats available at DU.
DU has also asked principals of its colleges to review existing residential facilities and expedite ongoing hostel projects. Colleges have been asked to explore additional hostel construction based on land availability and government schemes, while the university is expected to submit proposals for further projects to the government.
The announcement comes against the backdrop of the September 6 Satya Niketan tragedy, when a five-storey building being used as a private boys’ hostel collapsed near Delhi University’s South Campus, killing seven people, including five students and two labourers.
The incident has also brought the wider shortage of institutional student accommodation under judicial scrutiny, with the Delhi High Court recently seeking responses from the Centre, Delhi government and DU on a plea seeking hostel facilities across the university’s colleges.
