New Delhi, Oct. 5 -- The Delhi government on Monday held a stakeholder consultation with paying guest (PG) owners, operators and managers as part of its ongoing exercise to frame a comprehensive regulatory framework for student accommodation in the capital.
Education Minister Ashish Sood held discussions with PG operators to understand operational challenges and their concerns while working on regulations aimed at improving safety, transparency and basic living standards for students staying in PG accommodations.
"Following the recent unfortunate incident in Delhi, the process of regulating PGs and formulating new laws for them is ongoing," Sood said.
He said the government was consulting different stakeholders before finalising the proposed legislation. "A few days ago, I engaged to understand the concerns of the students and residents living in PGs. Today, I met with PG operators, owners, and managers to understand their perspectives and stakes," he said.
"Before drafting any new law, our government is engaging with everyone through stakeholder consultations. This is true participatory governance, the very model of participatory governance we are working on," Sood added.
The minister said the proposed framework would seek to balance the concerns of operators with the need to ensure safe and affordable accommodation for students. "Our concern is to ensure that people have access to safe, secure, reliable, and reasonably priced PG accommodations in Delhi," he said.
Sood said more than six lakh students migrate to Delhi every year, making regulation of student housing an important concern for the government. "Providing safe housing to the majority of them who reside in PGs is our responsibility. As part of that responsibility, today's discussions were held with the PG operators during this stakeholder consultation," he said.
The consultation follows a meeting Sood held with students living in PGs on September 8, during which they raised concerns over arbitrary electricity charges, high rents, inadequate security and landlords whose credentials had not been verified.
On September 15, Sood chaired the first meeting of a 20-member High-Powered Committee on Student Accommodation and Safety. The panel discussed proposals including standardised rental agreements, compulsory municipal registration through a centralised 'GovPG' portal, structural and fire safety inspections and mechanisms to ensure fair pricing.
The government is now working towards finalising the regulatory framework and guidelines in the coming weeks, with the proposed measures aimed at protecting the interests of more than six lakh students who move to Delhi for education each year.
Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.