Maharashtra to build single hostels for students of all communities, Bawankule tells collectors

Mumbai: Instead of building separate hostels for students of Adivasi, Scheduled Caste and Scheduled Tribe, Other Backward Class, Maratha and all other communities, the government will now work on providing accommodation for all of them in one place. Revenue Minister Chandrashekhar Bawankule has issued instructions to all district collectors on the matter.

Under the plan, a hostel with a capacity of about 1,000 students is being planned at the divisional level, while a hostel with a capacity of 500 students will be built at the district level. Collectors have been asked to identify suitable and convenient government sites for these hostels and send proposals by October 13.

The instructions were given at a meeting in Mantralaya on providing sites for hostels of the Other Backward Class Bahujan Welfare Department. Those present included MLA Rana Jagjitsinh Patil, MLA Sanjay Bansode, Revenue Department Joint Secretary S. D. Suryawanshi, Joint Secretary Manisha Jaybhaye, Deputy Secretary Gauri Mhaske, Deputy Secretary Bhagwan Sawant and Joint Director Sneha Devkate of the Other Backward Class Bahujan Welfare Department. All district collectors in the state joined through video conference.

Bawankule said that while choosing a site, officials should not merely check whether the land is vacant. They should first consider how the site would work from a student's point of view. It should be convenient for studies, for travel and for meeting daily needs. The basic amenities in the area, transport arrangements and scope for future expansion should also be kept in mind.

He said separate hostels have so far been built in the state for different communities, but students of all communities will live together in the hostels built from now on. According to Bawankule, the aim of this approach is to promote social harmony and also to give students good basic facilities.

Collectors concerned were also told to act immediately on the sites sought by Mahajyoti for hostels. For sites in Chandrapur, Beed, Parbhani, Dharashiv, Nanded, Sangli, Solapur, Akola, Yavatmal, Gondia and Washim districts, they have been asked to take the necessary action and send proposals to the government. In some places the government has already decided to give the land, but the property card process there has not been completed, so further work is stalled. Collectors were told to complete the property card work and submit proposals to the government with the required documents.

Bawankule appealed to collectors to think from the students' perspective while suggesting sites. A hostel site should be convenient in terms of educational institutions, public transport, health facilities, markets and other essential amenities. There should also be enough space to put up basic facilities in view of future growth.

For the Mahajyoti sites, collectors should prepare proposals under which a hostel with a capacity of at least 1,000 students can be built. Each proposal must give details of the available land, its area, location, connectivity, educational and urban facilities in the area, and the possibility of future expansion. Bawankule said a government-level outline of the combined hostel scheme for students of all communities will be prepared on the basis of the proposals received from the districts.