New Delhi [India], October 9 (ANI): The Delhi government will launch an online portal to map student paying guest (PG) accommodations across the national capital and conduct joint inspections of 100 identified cases over the next three days to assess safety standards and legal compliance, Education Minister Ashish Sood said after chairing the second meeting of the High-Powered Committee (HPC) on Student Accommodation and Safety.
The meeting, held on Thursday, focused on strengthening safety measures, improving the regulatory framework for PG accommodations and hostels, and identifying immediate steps in coordination with key stakeholders, including the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Police and universities.
The HPC was constituted following the Satya Niketan incident to establish comprehensive regulations for PG accommodations and hostels across Delhi.
Addressing the meeting, Sood said the government had made progress on developing a portal to collect information about students and their accommodations, which would help authorities identify where students were living and the facilities available to them.
"Following the tragic incident in Satya Niketan, a high-powered committee involving all departments was formed to decide regulations regarding the functioning of PGs and hostels in Delhi. Progress was made on creating a portal to capture data on students and paying guest accommodations. We will be launching the portal very soon so that it is known where children are living in Delhi and in what kind of accommodation, enabling us to regulate them," Sood said.
The portal will initially collect essential information, including the number of rooms and basic amenities, with the aim of simplifying the registration process and avoiding unnecessary concern among accommodation operators.
The Delhi University (DU) and MCD will conduct initial tests of the portal within two to four days, followed by an official government campaign to encourage student registration.
The committee also decided to constitute a sub-committee comprising representatives from the DDA, Delhi government, MCD and the Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University to examine regulatory restrictions affecting the legal operation of PG accommodations.
The sub-committee will study the scope for necessary relaxations under the Master Plan and the Delhi Municipal Corporation (DMC) Act, including the possibility of allowing PG operations within a 5-6 km radius of major educational hubs and in group housing societies and Resident Welfare Association (RWA) areas.
Explaining the proposed review, Sood said, "Where issues are arising in legal operations due to restrictions in the Master Plan and DMC Act, a sub-committee will sit to study that. This includes representatives from the DDA, the Delhi Government, the MCD, and the Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University so that necessary changes in standards can also be discussed."
Separately, MCD and DDA teams will jointly carry out field inspections of 100 identified cases over the next three days to examine safety arrangements and compliance with existing legal requirements.
The meeting also discussed proposed safety requirements for PG accommodations, including CCTV coverage at all entry and exit points and common areas, with recording backup of 40-45 days. The proposal seeks to strengthen monitoring while ensuring that personal spaces remain private.
Sood said the government was working towards introducing a regulatory framework to streamline the functioning of PG accommodations and provide students with safe and affordable housing.
"As we stated earlier, we will soon bring PG regulations and laws to streamline this system. We are committed to providing safe and affordable housing, and we are working rapidly toward it," he said.
The HPC will meet again after Dussehra to review the sub-committee's findings and finalise the draft regulatory framework. (ANI)
Delhi govt to launch portal to map student PGs, inspect 100 cases in three days
