DU clears ₹5.9K crore hostel plan as older projects remain stuck

The projects would add 21,895 places, but funding approval and construction timelines remain uncertain as older projects are delayed.

Delhi University’s (DU) Executive Council on Tuesday approved a fresh set of hostel projects estimated to cost ₹5,889 crore, including new residential facilities and the reconstruction of two existing hostels, as the university seeks to expand accommodation for students amid a persistent shortage of affordable housing.

DU vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh said the proposals, approved at an emergency meeting of the university’s highest statutory decision-making body, would now be forwarded to the Union ministry of education for approval of grant-in-aid. (HT PHOTO)

To be sure, the move comes even as several previously announced hostel projects remain pending, with work held up by funding constraints and construction challenges. Official data accessed by HT shows that seven projects are at various stages of delay, although the stated combined cost of these projects requires verification against the individual estimates.

The approvals on Tuesday include ₹4,027 crore for new hostels, which are expected to accommodate 15,758 students, and ₹1,862 crore for reconstructing two existing hostels, with a proposed combined capacity of 6,137 students. The university said the projects would provide residential facilities for 21,895 students.

DU vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh said the proposals, approved at an emergency meeting of the university’s highest statutory decision-making body, would now be forwarded to the Union ministry of education for approval of grant-in-aid.

The proposed new facilities include two additional hostel blocks for the Institute of Eminence hostels at the university’s Dhaka Complex, separate boys’ and girls’ hostels at Veer Savarkar College in Roshanpura, Najafgarh, and hostels for men and women at DU’s West Campus in Dwarka, Najafgarh, and East Campus in Surajmal Vihar, Kardardooma.

The reconstruction plan covers Jubilee Hall, established in 1947 and currently accommodating 212 students, and the Postgraduate Men’s Hostel, built in 1975 with a capacity of 100 students. The redeveloped facilities are proposed to accommodate 3,795 and 2,337 students, respectively.

“The university’s earlier hostels were built differently from the conditions expected in the future; therefore, planning is being done with the next 100 years in view,” Singh said. He added that the names of existing hostels would not be changed after reconstruction.

Older projects face hurdles

The fresh approvals come as the university continues to grapple with delays in earlier residential projects. Among these are two projects at the Dhaka Complex — a Girls’ Hostel/Studio Apartment Complex estimated to cost ₹233.35 crore and a Hostel-cum-Residential Block pegged at ₹318 crore. A university official, who asked not to be identified, said both were expected to be completed by December 2028.

The Nirbhaya Residential Accommodation Project, also at the Dhaka Complex, has seen its estimated cost rise from ₹272 crore to ₹400 crore. Its funding is yet to be disbursed by the Union ministry of women and child development, the official said.

“We have made several attempts to reach out to the women and child development minister, but the funds are yet to be released,” a senior university official said, speaking on condition of anonymity.

Total cost of pending hostel projects

Other delayed projects include an executive hostel/guest house there, pegged at ₹20.5 crore, and the extension of Geetanjali Girls’ Hostel, estimated to cost ₹11.23 crore. Both are scheduled for completion by June 2028.

Meanwhile, the proposed vertical extensions of the existing Saramati and Aravali boys’ hostels and a new hostel building at South Campus, estimated to cost around ₹9 crore and ₹22.81 crore, respectively, have been put on hold because of construction challenges arising from their location in the Ridge area, the official said.

The delays have added to concerns over student accommodation, with some students struggling to find affordable housing and resorting to buildings and basements that may pose safety risks. The issue has drawn renewed attention following the September 6 collapse of a five-storey building housing a boys’ paying guest accommodation in Satya Niketan, which resulted in the deaths in the deaths of five students who were living in a PG, and two labourers.

Official figures show DU has 251,474 students enrolled in conventional programmes. More than half are estimated to be from outside Delhi, although not all would necessarily require university accommodation.

Against this student population, the university has 7,224 official hostel beds: 3,688 in college hostels for undergraduate students and 3,536 in university-run hostels for postgraduate students. The new projects, if approved and completed, would substantially expand capacity, but their implementation will depend on funding approval and construction timelines.