DU proposes new hostels, redevelopment projects to accommodate over 30,000 students

Several hostel construction and redevelopment plans, designed to add accommodation for over 30,000 students, are set to be tabled before the University of Delhi's Executive Council on Tuesday. The proposals include high-rise hostels at the Dhaka Complex, new accommodation at the proposed East and West campuses, redevelopment of existing facilities such as Jubilee Hall and the PG Men's Hostel, and dedicated accommodation for women and working women.

The agenda for the Executive Council's meeting, scheduled for Tuesday, states that the Finance Committee has recommended placing the projects and their detailed project reports before the council for approval. If approved, the proposals will be sent to the respective ministries for sanction and funding under grants-in-aid, the agenda said.

The university has proposed two Y-shaped hostels at the Dhaka Complex, one each for girls and boys, with a capacity of 4,836 students each and an estimated cost of Rs 1,130 crore per project. Both projects are planned as 2-basement, ground-plus-31-storey structures with a built-up area of 154,640 square metres each. The agenda also lists a Rs 400-crore Nirbhaya Working Women Accommodation-I project at the Dhaka Complex, with capacity for 1,674 residents, and a separate women's accommodation project of the same capacity and estimated cost.

Also read DU college students plan 5 years to bring International Conference of Physics Students to India

For the working women's project, the Ministry of Women and Child Development has committed Rs 200 crore, while the remaining Rs 200 crore is proposed to be sought from the Ministry of Education, according to the document. Among the major redevelopment projects are a proposed new hostel in place of the Jubilee Hall Hostel, estimated to cost Rs 1,225.59 crore and accommodate 3,800 students; a Rs 637.06 crore hostel in place of the PG Men's Hostel for 2,337 students; and an International Student House estimated at Rs 966.39 crore with capacity for 3,300 students.

A Rs 1,050.91 crore proposal for Block I and Block II at the Dhaka Complex, adjoining the working women's accommodation, envisages housing for 3,800 students. The proposed E, F and G Block undergraduate hostel at Dhaka Complex would accommodate 3,162 students at an estimated cost of Rs 678 crore.

The university has also proposed hostels for 2,340 students at its East Campus at Surajmal Vihar, Karkardooma, at an estimated cost of Rs 725 crore. Separate boys' and girls' hostel projects have been proposed at Veer Savarkar College in Roshanpura, Najafgarh, and its West Campus in Dwarka. The Najafgarh site is around five kilometres from the West Campus. Each project is estimated at Rs 347 crore and would accommodate 1,036 students.

Facilities at proposed hostels

The proposed hostels would generally include three-student units with separate cubicles, beds, study tables, wardrobes and individual balconies, along with a discussion room and shared toilet facilities, according to the agenda. The Building Committee has also recommended single-seater accommodation for PhD and postdoctoral students, as well as residential facilities for hostel provosts, wardens, resident tutors and non-teaching staff.

The proposals envisage wider corridors, lifts, dining facilities, gyms, libraries, laundries, refuse areas and shopping facilities for daily needs. The committee has recommended optimum use of floor-area ratio and construction of buildings of up to 32 floors in line with the Master Plan for Delhi 2047. The move comes amid renewed focus on student accommodation and safety, following the recent building collapse in Satya Niketan near the university's South Campus, which houses a large number of students in private PGs and rented accommodations. The incident triggered scrutiny of structural safety and regulation of private student housing. Apart from the accommodation projects, the Executive Council will consider a Rs 100.04 crore skywalk between the Faculty of Technology and the Delhi University Computer Centre, to be funded through HEFA resources. A Rs 70.09 crore academic block adjoining the USIC Building, proposed after demolition of a temporary structure, is also on the agenda. It is to be financed through university resources.