Students suffer as govt defaults on hostel rents

Nearly 200 girls were forced out of a Social Welfare Department hostel in Kalaburagi by the building owner a few days ago as the government had not paid rent for three months. Some of them were even locked up in the hostel. Students had to spend the night outdoors and a few had no other option but to return to their villages. The incident has exposed the plight of students in hostels run by the government in rented buildings.

In all, 45 pre-matric and 162 post-matric hostels of the 1,902 hostels coming under the Social Welfare Department are housed in rented buildings. Students in at least 70 hostels had to be shifted to other facilities.

Similarly, of the 2,438 hostels run by Backward Classes Welfare Department, 379 girls' hostels and 350 boys' hostels are in rented buildings, which is 30% of its hostels.

Though funds are provided under several government departments, operational and procedural challenges cause delays in rent payments.

The Public Works Department finalises the rent for hostel buildings before entering into an agreement with the building owners. But officials withhold the rent till the owners provide documents like plan approval, licence and property tax. The owners, who are not told about these requirements at the start of the academic year, take several months to furnish records. Some owners do not possess the required papers.

"District-level officials only check basic facilities like drinking water and toilets but fail to obtain the necessary documents. The Backward Classes Welfare Department does not have enough grants to construct new hostel buildings. We have shifted students from 70 hostels to other buildings during the last two years due to such problems," says Rajappa N, joint director, Backward Classes Welfare Department.

The social welfare department has been paying an annual rent of Rs 16.5 crore for hostels. "We take rented buildings without checking the documents as there is pressure from the government to accommodate students at the start of the academic year. But by the time the building owner provides records at the end of the academic year, we would have run out of funds. This leads to delay in payment of the rent," Social Welfare Department Deputy Director Purushottam S told DH.

All India Democratic Students Union (AIDSU) Kalaburagi district vice-president Sneha Kattimani has alleged that students are forced out of rented hostels due to official negligence and claimed that thousands of students in rural areas are deprived of education due to a lack of basic amenities and food in government hostels.

"Most rented hostels face safety and transport issues as they are situated on the outskirts. Owners in residential areas prefer families for tenants. Officials look for cheap accommodation but they lack basic facilities and are run in unhygienic areas, forcing girls to live in pathetic conditions," Sneha said.