Minority girls hostel runs into glitches

​Hyderabad: The building constructed for running a Minority Welfare Department (MWD)-proposed post-matric hostel for girls, on the campus of the Indira Priyadarshini Government Degree College at Nampally, has failed to take off and instead,

the building has now been handed over to the RUSA (Rashtriya Uchchatar Shiksha Abhiyan) Resource Centre, which will start functioning from this academic year. The land for this hostel, admeasuring about 1,000 sq yd, was earmarked by the UGC in 2007.

The UGC had sanctioned Rs 1 crore for the construction of the hostel on September 7, 2007, of which Rs 50 lakh was deposited in the college account on September 13 of the same year. The construction work was taken up by the Roads and Buildings Department.

A makeshift hostel for these girls started in the meanwhile by the MWD in the PG block of the College in 2007, accommodating more than 50 girl students, was also shut down suddenly in 2013, as it could not be maintained properly due to lack of coordination between various departments.

In the meanwhile, College Planning & Development Committee (CPDC) Board of the MWD started an ‘unofficial’ Post-matric Hostel in the PG Block of the Indira Priyadarshini college campus.

The college officials, in their correspondence with the Commissionerate of Collegiate Education (CCE) in January 2016, claimed that the makeshift hostel was being run without authorisation.

“Without informing the Principal from 2007 to 2013, the hostel provided accommodation to 50 students”, the letter says. But the plaque of foundation laying which remains intact on the new building,

clearly shows that the then Minister for Higher Education D Srinivas had laid foundation in the presence of higher officials, Principal and Chairman of the CPDC, Mohd Jaleel Pasha, who was blamed for running the makeshift hostel till 2013.

In the correspondence, the college officials further claim that in 2013, a complaint was lodged by the then Principal A M Jayabharathi with the Commissioner of Minority Welfare Department regarding ‘unauthorised occupation’ of college premises and the hostel was vacated immediately.

“There were several complaints regarding safety and security of the hostel inmates and the disorder it had created. Anti-social elements had started coming into the College premises.

Until January 2014, the hostel building was under the possession of unauthorised persons and with the help of police the Principal had taken over the occupation of the hostel building”, clarified the Assistant Director, Padmavathi, in the letter.

In 2015, former Director of the Minorities Welfare Department, M J Akbar again represented to the college authorities and the CCE about the issue of dire need of a hostel for girls as several students from districts faced accommodation problems.

With some conditions, the officials also agreed to hand over the building to the Department. But as the building was not complete and ran into several problems, it was taken over by the CCE for RUSA on rental basis.

The higher officials of the CCE do not have clarity as to who had constructed the building and how much of the UGC funds were used.

Speaking to The Hans India, CCE chief A Vani Prasad acknowledged that the building was originally meant for the hostel, but there was lot of confusion about the construction of the building. She said that the college authorities also had a dispute with the CPDC Board and also there was an issue of ‘missing cheque’.

“We had ordered an enquiry about it and later the college officials decided to allot the building for RUSA. We are making feasibility study by asking students, if they are ready to stay in the hostel.

After holding a fresh meeting, we shall arrive at a decision and new building will be constructed by calling tenders,” she said.

By:Md Nizamuddin