Delhi to launch portal to map student PGs, inspect 100 accommodations

New Delhi: The Delhi government is to launch an online portal to help map student paying guest facilities across the state. They are also to conduct joint inspections of 100 identified cases in the next three days to assess safety standards and legal compliance, Education Minister Ashish Sood said on Thursday. 

The decisions were taken in the context of the Satya Niketan incident to assert regulations for PG accommodations and hostels. All these were planned after the second meeting of the High- Powered Committee(HPC) on Student Accommodation and safety. 

The key decisions include: 

• Online portal: Delhi University(DU) and the Municipal Corporation of Delhi(MCD) will test an online portal for students within a couple of days, followed by a government campaign to encourage students. The portal will collect information on student accommodation, including the number of rooms and other available facilities. 
• Combined inspections: Delhi Development Authority (DDA) and MCD will inspect unidentified cases over the next three days to assess safety systems and compliance with existing laws. 
• Supervisory review: A sub-committee of representatives from the Delhi Government, DDA, MCD, and the DU Vice-Chancellor will assess restrictions under the master plan and the Delhi Municipal Corporation Act that affect the legal operations of PGs. The sub-committee will also look into changes to regulations, including the chances of allowing PGs within a 5- 6 kilometre radius of major educational institutions and in housing societies and Resident Welfare Association(RWA) Areas. 
• Suggested safety measures: The committee talked about installing CCTV cameras at all entrances and exits in common areas, with recording backups to be retained for 40-45 days, adhering to residents’ privacy policies. 

According to reports from The Indian Express, the major student hubs like Satya Niketan, Mukherjee Nagar, and Ber Sarai face an acute shortage of official university hostels. According to their report, urban planners earlier said that thousands of students rely on private accommodations in residential areas, as the existing framework makes legal operations difficult, with land-use rules, among others, limiting commercialised or multi-tenant boarding activities in residential zones, making way for PGs to group up informally or illegally. 

Minister Ashish Sood stated that the government was working on a regulatory framework to streamline PGs’ working process to ensure student safety and affordable accommodation. The HCP will meet post- Dussehra to review the sub-committee’s assessments and finalise the draft regulatory framework. 

(With agency inputs from ANI and The Indian Express)