E-Paper
Confusion over ‘cut’ in service and utility charges
New Delhi:
New Delhi:
The Human Resource Development (HRD) ministry on Friday said the Jawaharlal Nehru University (JNU) administration had informed that students will not be charged service and utility charges and appealed to students to withdraw their ongoing strike against the hostel fee hike.
However, the JNU administration on Thursday issued a statement, saying the service and utility charges will not be charged only during the current winter semester. “As per discussions held in MHRD, UGC (University Grants Commission) will bear the cost of service and utility charges proposed till further orders,” stated the circular issued by JNU Registrar Pramod Kumar.
HRD secretary Amit Khare held a meeting with Vice-Chancellor (VC) M Jagadesh Kumar along with the rectors and registrar of JNU on Friday morning. He also interacted with Aishe Ghosh, president of the Jawaharlal Nehru University Students Union (JNUSU), in the afternoon.
JNUSU vice-president Saket Moon said they had informed the MHRD officials about the “difference in the statements” of the administration. “We had drawn their attention towards it. It clearly shows the MHRD and UGC are ready to pay for the service and utility charges. But the administration is unnecessarily adding this clause of one month in their circular,” he said.
The JNU registrar said, “We had mentioned only winter semester, 2020, in our circular because we cannot ensure regular funds from UGC. “We do not want to charge any extra money from our students. But from where will we meet our expenses? We will not charge this portion in the hostel fee as long as we will receive the funds,” he said.
The service and utility charges have been a bone of contention between the students and the administration after a recent hostel fee hike. The students have been demanding a complete rollback of the hike.
Moon said the hostel fee is still “out of bounds” for many students even after removing the utility and service charges. “With the revised rent, the fee for a double-seater room will be around Rs 5,000 per semester and for single room, it will around Rs 7,000, per semester, excluding the utility and service charges,” he said. Earlier, the hostel fee for a double-seater room was Rs 3,060 per semester and it was Rs 3,120 for single room.
The new fee structure also mentioned that the electricity and water charges will be charged separately it’s free of cost earlier.
