<p>Delhi University has unused plots of land across the Capital, measuring twice the size of university’s South Campus.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Vice Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi told Deccan Herald that his administration wants to “save some land for future academic expansion”, even as DU grapples with shortage of hostels. Nearly, one lakh students enroll in the university every year.<br /><br />For accommodating students coming from outside Delhi, Tyagi suggests construction of large housing complexes around Metro stations. Last year, more than half of the 2.9 lakh undergraduate applicants were non-Delhi residents.<br /><br />“It will be premature to announce that it will be implemented. But there is an attempt to think of a solution beyond constructing of hostels by the university,” he said. He adds that shortage of lodging houses for students can be solved with the involvement of government agencies, non-profits and corporates in large-scale housing projects in Metro-connected suburban areas like Dwarka, Najafgarh, Noida and Gurgaon.<br /><br />DU has vacant plots of land in Maurice Nagar (6 acre), Mall Road (2 acre), Dhaka Complex, Mukherjee Nagar (over 50 acres), Bawana (46 acre), Surajmal Vihar (15 acre), Najafgarh (16 acre) and Dwarka (2 acre), a university source claimed. Besides, the university has five high-value properties leased out in the city. <br /><br />According to the Vice Chancellor, the comfort of living near the university campuses has resulted in mushrooming of paying guesthouses. <br /><br />Kamala Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Outram Line, GTB Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar near North Campus and Satya Niketan and Anand Niketan near South Campus are popular amongst student destinations in the Capital.<br /><br />Less than one-fourth of the DU colleges have hostel facilities at present, as per the DU’s admission bulletin for undergraduate courses, issued last year. <br /><br />The hostel shortage forces many students to go for alternate accommodation, which means shelling out more money. Many pay anything between Rs 9,000 to 15,000 for double occupancy rooms in Mukherjee Nagar, said Karan Mahanta, a student of Satyawati College.<br /><br />Giving example of a Dutch university in Hague, Tyagi said the many western universities provide students with lodging options at the time of admission. “You get a list of institutions, addresses and contacts of families who have surplus space in their houses, and other information such as distance from the school you are applying to, rent of the place, etc,” he said.<br /><br />Vice Chancellor, however, said doing the same in Delhi is implausible. “Probably, we will have to encourage more and more people to live at places having connectivity to Metro,” he said.<br /><br />Many DU colleges fall in the vicinity of 114-km long Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) network.<br /><br />“The university is mulling over having new colleges and departments. There is a proposal to have a separate campus for running the five-year integrated course in law,” a university official said.<br /></p>
<p>Delhi University has unused plots of land across the Capital, measuring twice the size of university’s South Campus.<br /><br /></p>.<p>Vice Chancellor Yogesh Tyagi told Deccan Herald that his administration wants to “save some land for future academic expansion”, even as DU grapples with shortage of hostels. Nearly, one lakh students enroll in the university every year.<br /><br />For accommodating students coming from outside Delhi, Tyagi suggests construction of large housing complexes around Metro stations. Last year, more than half of the 2.9 lakh undergraduate applicants were non-Delhi residents.<br /><br />“It will be premature to announce that it will be implemented. But there is an attempt to think of a solution beyond constructing of hostels by the university,” he said. He adds that shortage of lodging houses for students can be solved with the involvement of government agencies, non-profits and corporates in large-scale housing projects in Metro-connected suburban areas like Dwarka, Najafgarh, Noida and Gurgaon.<br /><br />DU has vacant plots of land in Maurice Nagar (6 acre), Mall Road (2 acre), Dhaka Complex, Mukherjee Nagar (over 50 acres), Bawana (46 acre), Surajmal Vihar (15 acre), Najafgarh (16 acre) and Dwarka (2 acre), a university source claimed. Besides, the university has five high-value properties leased out in the city. <br /><br />According to the Vice Chancellor, the comfort of living near the university campuses has resulted in mushrooming of paying guesthouses. <br /><br />Kamala Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Outram Line, GTB Nagar and Mukherjee Nagar near North Campus and Satya Niketan and Anand Niketan near South Campus are popular amongst student destinations in the Capital.<br /><br />Less than one-fourth of the DU colleges have hostel facilities at present, as per the DU’s admission bulletin for undergraduate courses, issued last year. <br /><br />The hostel shortage forces many students to go for alternate accommodation, which means shelling out more money. Many pay anything between Rs 9,000 to 15,000 for double occupancy rooms in Mukherjee Nagar, said Karan Mahanta, a student of Satyawati College.<br /><br />Giving example of a Dutch university in Hague, Tyagi said the many western universities provide students with lodging options at the time of admission. “You get a list of institutions, addresses and contacts of families who have surplus space in their houses, and other information such as distance from the school you are applying to, rent of the place, etc,” he said.<br /><br />Vice Chancellor, however, said doing the same in Delhi is implausible. “Probably, we will have to encourage more and more people to live at places having connectivity to Metro,” he said.<br /><br />Many DU colleges fall in the vicinity of 114-km long Delhi Metro Rail Corporation (DMRC) network.<br /><br />“The university is mulling over having new colleges and departments. There is a proposal to have a separate campus for running the five-year integrated course in law,” a university official said.<br /></p>
