New Delhi, Oct. 15 -- Delhi University's (DU) Executive Council on Tuesday approved a fresh set of hostel projects estimated to cost Rs.5,889 crore, including new residential facilities and the reconstruction of two existing hostels, as the university seeks to expand accommodation for students amid a persistent shortage of affordable housing. To be sure, the move comes even as several previously announced hostel projects remain pending, with work held up by funding constraints and construction challenges. Official data accessed by HT shows that seven projects are at various stages of delay, although the stated combined cost of these projects requires verification against the individual estimates. The approvals on Tuesday include Rs.4,027 crore for new hostels, expected to accommodate 15,758 students, and Rs.1,862 crore for reconstructing two existing hostels, with a proposed combined capacity of 6,137 students. The university said the projects would provide residential facilities for 21,895 students. DU vice-chancellor Yogesh Singh said the proposals, approved at an emergency meeting of the university's highest statutory decision-making body, would now be forwarded to the Union ministry of education for approval of grant-in-aid. "According to the proposal passed by the EC, new hostels will be constructed at an estimated cost of Rs.4,027 crore, providing additional accommodation for 15,758 students. Additionally, a proposal to reconstruct two existing hostels was passed, with an estimated cost of Rs.1,862 crore; this will provide residential facilities for 6,137 students," the university said in a statement on Tuesday. The proposed facilities include two additional hostel blocks for the Institute of Eminence hostels at the university's Dhaka Complex, separate boys' and girls' hostels at Veer Savarkar College in Roshanpura, Najafgarh, and hostels for men and women at DU's West Campus in Dwarka, Najafgarh, and East Campus in Surajmal Vihar, Kardardooma. The reconstruction plan covers Jubilee Hall, established in 1947 and currently accommodating 212 students, and the Postgraduate Men's Hostel, built in 1975 with a capacity of 100 students. The redeveloped facilities are proposed to accommodate 3,795 and 2,337 students, respectively. "The university's earlier hostels were built differently from the conditions expected in the future; therefore, planning is being done with the next 100 years in view," Singh said. The fresh approvals come as the university continues to grapple with delays in earlier residential projects. Among these are two projects at the Dhaka Complex - a Girls' Hostel/Studio Apartment Complex estimated to cost Rs.233.35 crore and a Hostel-cum-Residential Block pegged at Rs.318 crore. A university official, who asked not to be identified, said both were expected to be completed by December 2028. The Nirbhaya Residential Accommodation Project, also at the Dhaka Complex, has seen its estimated cost rise from Rs.272 crore to Rs.400 crore. Its funding is yet to be disbursed by the Union ministry of women and child development, the official said. "We have made several attempts to reach out to the women and child development minister, but the funds are yet to be released," a senior university official said, speaking on condition of anonymity. Other delayed projects include an executive hostel/guest house there, pegged at Rs.20.5 crore, and the extension of Geetanjali Girls' Hostel, estimated to cost Rs.11.23 crore. Both are scheduled for completion by June 2028....