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The Delhi High Court on Wednesday issued notice on a PIL seeking constitution of Student Accommodation Advisory and Monitoring Committees at the college, university and district levels to ensure the safety of students residing in private paying guest (PG) accommodations, rented flats and hostels in Delhi.

The plea has been filed in the aftermath of collapse of Satya Niketan PG building, which resulted in deaths of seven people, including five students.

A division bench comprising Chief Justice DK Upadhyaya and Justice Tejas Karia sought response of Union of India, Delhi Government, MCD, Delhi Police, Guru Gobind Singh Indraprastha University, Delhi University, University Grants Commission, Union of India, Jawaharlal Nehru University, BR Amebdkar University and Pannalal Girdharlal Dayanand College.

The matter is listed on October 14, along with another petition concerning the collapse incident.

The petition, filed by Delhi University student Shivansh Kalia, seeks directions to the Delhi government and other authorities to formulate a comprehensive regulatory framework for private student accommodations, including measures to ensure structural and fire safety, hygiene, habitability and grievance redressal.

The petitioner has submitted that the incident exposed gaps in the monitoring and regulation of private student accommodations and highlighted the need for a coordinated mechanism to address safety concerns.

The plea states that a large number of students are compelled to live in private PGs, rented flats and hostels due to the limited availability of institutional hostel facilities.

However, it has been claimed that there is no dedicated mechanism through which students can report unsafe living conditions, harassment, exploitation, overcharging or other accommodation-related grievances.

The plea further points out that the responsibility for regulating such accommodations is distributed among several authorities, including the Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Police, educational institutions and district administration, resulting in a need for better coordination.

The petition proposes constitution of committees at three levels: colleges, universities and major student or coaching hubs. The proposed committees would include representatives of educational institutions, students, police, municipal authorities, district administration and civil society.

The petition has also sought a voluntary database of students residing in private accommodations, subject to their consent and appropriate data-protection safeguards.

The PIL further seeks measures to increase the availability of affordable government and institutional hostels, particularly in areas with a high concentration of students.

The Court is already dealing with a PIL seeking urgent medical care and rehabilitation of affected students, compensation to victims, safe relocation of students from unsafe premises and preservation of crucial evidence relating to the collapse.

The Court recently asked the authorities to double their efforts to save the lives of students affected by the collapse.

It has directed the MCD to take up the issue at its highest executive level and get an enquiry conducted as to whether the buildings which collapsed were constructed under valid permission or not.

The High Court has also said that if it is found that the construction was not done under valid permission, MCD shall fix responsibility of the erring official or employees for the lapse.

Title: SHIVANSH KALIA v. GOVT. OF NCT OF DELHI & ORS

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