Delhi University EC to discuss Rs 8,000-crore hostel plan for over 30,000 students

The University of Delhi (DU) is set to consider a Rs 5,157 crore project to build new hostels with a total capacity of 20,594 residents across its Dhaka Complex, Najafgarh campus and Surajmal Vihar campus at its Executive Council meeting on Tuesday. It will also consider a project worth close to Rs 3,000 crore to demolish existing hostels – including the iconic Jubilee Hall Hostel – and replace them with structures over 30-storeys tall and a collective capacity of over 10,000.

The hostel proposal is the only item on the agenda for the EC meeting. According to a Detailed Project Report (DPR) prepared by the Central Public Works Department (CPWD), the project is expected to take 30 months, including six months for planning and 24 months for execution.

DU currently has hostel accommodation for only around 7,000 students, catering to less than 3% of its 2.5 lakh students. The DPR, submitted to the university on October 11, identifies an urgent need to expand residential facilities after the recent paying guest (PG) building collapse in South Delhi’s Satya Niketan which killed seven and injured twelve.

The proposed project includes separate accommodation for male and female students, undergraduate (UG) hostels and accommodation for working women. Delhi University hopes to fund all projects with grants from the ministry of education.

DU North Campus

The Dhaka Complex accounts for the largest share of the proposed accommodation, with five hostel developments having a combined capacity of nearly 16,000 residents.

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Two Y-shaped hostel buildings, each with a capacity of 4,836 residents, are proposed at an estimated cost of Rs 1,130 crore each. The Dhaka Complex will also have Nirbhaya Working Women Accommodation I and Women Accommodation II, each with a capacity of 1,674 residents and an estimated cost of Rs 400 crore.

An additional undergraduate hostel comprising E, F and G blocks has been proposed with a capacity of 3,162 residents at an estimated cost of Rs 678 crore.

The Dhaka Complex buildings are planned with two basement levels, a ground floor and 31 upper floors - 2B+G+31.

DU hostels in West, East campuses

At Najafgarh, DU has proposed separate girls' and boys' hostels for Veer Savarkar College and West Campus Dwarka. Each of these hostel units will accommodate 1,036 students and will cost Rs 347 crore. The DPR proposes four hostel blocks at the Najafgarh site.

At Surajmal Vihar in Karkardooma, the East Campus, the proposed hostels for girls and boys will accommodate 2,340 students, with an estimated cost of Rs 323 crore.

Delhi University North Campus: Demolition and reconstruction

Apart from the new builds, the EC will also consider proposals for the demolition and reconstruction of existing student residents, including the iconic Jubilee Hall. This will cost a further Rs 2,829.74 crore.

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Jubilee Hall Hostel will be rebuilt into a 32-storey building at a cost of Rs 1,225.59 crore to house 3,800 students. PG Men's Hostel and International Student House will both be replaced by 32-storey structures with capacity for 2,337 and 3,300 students, respectively, at a total cost of over Rs 1,600 crore.

Hostel facilities

The proposed hostel buildings will include rooms, dining halls, reading rooms, common rooms, shops and accommodation for wardens. The DPR also provides for air-conditioned common spaces such as reading rooms and dining halls, along with furniture, kitchen equipment and other infrastructure needed to make the buildings habitable.

The university has approved a three-seater room layout measuring approximately 760 square feet. The hostels will also have power point and corresponding electrical load for air conditioners in individual rooms.

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The DPR includes fire safety systems, CCTV surveillance, LAN-based internet connectivity, solar power systems, internal water supply and sanitary installations, fencing as per requirement, sewage treatment plants, parking facilities, substations, DG sets and EPABX systems (for network), “to make the proposed hostel buildings fully habitable.”

Dining halls will be designed to accommodate up to 500 students at a time. Where a larger capacity is required, multiple dining halls will be provided.

The cost estimates have been prepared using CPWD's 2025 plinth area rates.