Students of IIT Delhi are staging a protest against the fee hike in hostel and mess charges. "There has been no hike in stipends nor has any stipend been given to BTech, MSc students but the fee has been doubled," alleged a fourth-year PhD student explaining that his total expenses per semester, owing to the hike, has now gone up to Rs 70,000 as against Rs 30,000 which was the charge earlier. "My monthly hostel charges are now more than Rs 7,000 as against below Rs 3,000 in 2018," he pointed out.
Why the hike in hostel charges?
The Board of Hostel Management (BHM), formed in 1976, manages the salaries of hostel mess workers and it is drawn from the advance fee payment that students make before their semester begins.
Initially, subsidies were given to the mess and hostel workers, including non-food components like electricity, but since the year 1993, the subsidy started reducing gradually.
When it comes to what students are charged, hostel and mess fee per day for one student is about Rs 85. Out of which, Rs 57 is for contractual/regular workers and the rest is for daily wage workers, the student briefed. Previously, the same amount was Rs 21.
Explaining the reason behind the hike, the student alleged that, in 2019, the Controller of Audit General of India (CAG) pointed out that BHM cannot be managing salaries and subsidies for hostel/mess workers as the body is not officially recognised by IIT Delhi. The student even alleged that the CAG asked how BHM can employ its own people and draw salaries and subsidies from the institute when the body is not even part of the institute.
Hence, since then, the subsidies were cancelled and there was no hike in the contractual employees either, he claimed. This resulted in a hike of Rs 100 which was added to the total hostel charges. Now, after the hike, the overall hostel charges stand at Rs 245 per day as against Rs 137 per day in 2019-20.
Meet with the dean
The student also informed EdexLive that they met the Dean of Students Affairs last Wednesday, April 5, but to no avail. "No, no. It is only due to inflation," the dean allegedly said, responding to the students' queries. Further, the student added that the dean was ignoring their points on the hike in salaries and he was not willing to listen to what they were trying to express.
What now?
As there was no positive response from the administration, the students initiated started a protest today, April 10, at 11 am at the Wind-T in IIT Delhi. There is also an open house with the director which is ongoing.
