NHRC notice to govt, and UGC seeking comprehensive report on hostels

New Delhi: In the wake of the Satya Niketan building collapse, the NHRC has issued notices to the Delhi government and the UGC, directing them to furnish a “comprehensive report” related to hostels and other accommodation facilities for students, in consultation with the Delhi University, officials said.

“The exercise shall not remain confined merely to construction of new hostels. The authorities shall undertake an assessment of the existing hostel infrastructure and examine both the feasibility of upgrading, expanding, renovating or otherwise augmenting existing/old hostel facilities and the requirement and feasibility of construction of new hostel facilities, wherever necessary,” according to the proceedings of the NHRC, dated September 7.

On September 6 afternoon, the decades-old building housing a boys’ paying guest accommodation in Satya Niketan near Delhi University South Campus collapsed, killing seven people and leaving several others injured.

The incident has brought the issue of hostels and condition of out-of-campus accommodation facilities used by students in Delhi. Network for Access to Justice and Multidisciplinary Outreach Foundation, a non-profit company, in its complaint submitted to the National Human Rights Commission (NHRC), has highlighted a “serious concern” faced by DU students regarding inadequate hostel facilities, the proceedings reads. The allegations made in the complaint prima facie seem to be violations of the human rights of the victims, it says. The complainant said the university admits around 72,000 undergraduate students but availability of hostels was “highly insufficient”. It has been further alleged that students from other states struggled to secure affordable accommodation, forcing them into expensive paying guests or private rentals.