Delhi PG Building Collapse: Why DU Has Too Few Hostels For Its Growing Student Numbers

The collapse of a five-storey PG accommodation in South Delhi’s Satya Niketan on September 6, in which at least seven people, including students, died, has brought renewed attention to the shortage of hostel accommodation at Delhi University (DU).

The incident has also highlighted the growing dependence on private accommodation among students, particularly in neighbourhoods close to university campuses.

Satya Niketan is one such locality. Its proximity to several DU colleges has made it a preferred student housing area, but reports have also pointed to concerns over the condition of some buildings, including overcrowded rooms, inadequate ventilation and poor food and water facilities.

The Delhi High Court, while hearing a Public Interest Litigation (PIL) seeking audits of such buildings, on Monday drew attention to what it described as the “absolutely inadequate number of hostels available to students”.

A University That Outgrew Its Hostels

The Delhi University Act, 1922, provides under Section 33 that students, barring those pursuing correspondence courses, are expected to reside in a college, a hall or under conditions laid down by university ordinances. The Act defines a “hall” as student accommodation provided, maintained or recognised by the university.

The scale of DU has changed considerably since then. According to the university’s Annual Report for 2024-25, DU has grown from three colleges and 750 students in North Campus to 90 colleges, 20 standalone hostels and more than six lakh students, including those enrolled through distance learning.

Of these, more than 2.5 lakh students are enrolled through the conventional mode. More than half of the students are from outside Delhi, the report said.

Yet hostel capacity remains limited. DU does not provide consolidated figures for the total number of hostel seats. Around 2015, reports estimated that roughly 9,000 seats were available for around 1.8 lakh students.

The shortage is particularly apparent among colleges in South Campus. Maitreyi College, for example, opened a hostel in 2022 with space for 103 students, even though its student population exceeds 4,000. Across most colleges, hostel accommodation caters to less than 10% of students.

Why Building More Hostels Is Not Simple

The demand for additional hostel seats has been raised repeatedly, but colleges face practical limitations in expanding residential facilities.

Haritma Chopra, principal of Maitreyi College, told The Indian Express that the proportion of students coming from outside Delhi has increased as access to technology has widened and university admissions moved online.

VS Negi, president of the Delhi University Teachers’ Association (DUTA), said adequate accommodation was necessary so that students coming to Delhi from different parts of the country were not compelled to depend on unsafe housing.

College administrations, however, have pointed to restrictions involving land, construction and heritage buildings. Bijayalaxmi Nanda, principal of Miranda House, said individual colleges have limited landholdings and that some buildings are heritage structures. She argued that making DU entirely residential would not be feasible given these constraints.

Building new hostel facilities can also require several clearances and approvals. These include dealing with civic authorities such as the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), undertaking mapping and architectural work and meeting requirements related to green spaces and heritage structures.

Funding is another consideration. Chopra identified the Higher Education Financing Agency (HEFA) as one source of funding, while alumni contributions have supported renovation and maintenance in some colleges.

The Private Housing Alternative

The shortage of university accommodation has helped private PGs expand around DU campuses. Rents in these facilities can range from ₹10,000 to ₹25,000 per person every month. Students looking for accommodation may also have limited information about whether a property is suitable or what standards they should expect from a PG.

Some colleges are now seeking a greater role in this process. Nanda said institutions could become more involved in helping students identify accommodation outside campus.

At Miranda House, the Women’s Development Cell prepared a report in 2024-25 after student teams examined accommodation options around the college. The exercise looked at PG rents and costs in North Campus areas and also listed precautions for students searching for housing. These included checking whether entry systems such as cameras and intercoms were present and functioning, as well as looking for possible safety hazards.

The issue may also receive a regulatory response. A draft Delhi government Bill proposes a framework for regulating PG accommodation. The draft identifies concerns including arbitrary rents, poor living conditions, inadequate safety measures and the absence of an effective grievance redressal system.

For Nanda, improving student accommodation could require a wider community effort involving colleges, parents and Resident Welfare Associations. She also pointed to buddy systems used by colleges abroad, where senior students help newcomers navigate accommodation and other aspects of settling into a new city.

The Satya Niketan collapse has therefore raised a question beyond the immediate demand for more hostel beds. While expanding university accommodation remains an important concern, the limitations of land, funding and construction mean that private housing is likely to continue forming part of the student accommodation landscape.

The focus, consequently, is also on ensuring that students living outside campus can access housing that is affordable and offers basic safety and security.