Delhi University to add 5,544 hostel seats, total capacity to reach 12,754

The University of Delhi is set to more than double its hostel capacity across the university and its colleges, with the combined number of seats expected to reach 12,754. The expansion comes days after the collapse of a five-storey paying guest (PG) building in Satya Niketan , an area near the DU South campus where thousands of university students live because of the shortage of college hostels.

For nearly 100 years, DU had 3,422 hostel seats at the university level. The university is now adding 3,922 seats, taking the hostel capacity to 7,344. Across its colleges, hostel capacity will rise from 3,788 to 5,410 seats after the addition of 1,622 seats. The combined capacity of DU and its colleges will consequently reach 12,754 seats. Construction of the new facilities is underway and is expected to be completed in the coming months.

University of Delhi is developing several new residential facilities to increase accommodation. These include a 1,450-seat Institute of Eminence hostel at the Dhaka Complex, a 1,000-seat women’s hostel named Nirbhaya Residential Accommodation and a 1,050-seat studio apartment complex. Other hostel projects are also under construction, while work on several new projects is expected to begin soon.

The university has asked college principals to review residential facilities at their institutions. It has also directed colleges to complete hostels under construction and assess the feasibility of building new hostels, taking into account available space, government schemes, and other requirements.

DU said its total hostel capacity is expected to more than double within four to five years, while several additional projects are also planned.

Also read 12 DU colleges, just 1 with hostels: Why students are forced into PGs like the one collapsed in Satya Niketan

Shortage of hostel accommodation

The expansion announcement comes after Satya Niketan building collapse exposed concerns surrounding student accommodation in the South Campus area. Till now, Sri Venkateswara College is the only South Campus college with hostel facilities and separate hostels for male and female students but limited capacity. Students from other colleges therefore depend heavily on private PG accommodation in areas around the campus.

The shortage of hostel accommodation has also resulted in higher living costs for students. Students earlier told Careers360 that they were paying around Rs 15,000 to Rs 16,800 per month for PG accommodation. Some students have moved to areas farther from their colleges to find comparatively affordable accommodation.

Students also raised concerns about the maintenance and safety of private PG buildings in the area. Following the Satya Niketan collapse, students demanded safety audits of PGs and university-regulated hostel accommodation near South Campus.