Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood Chairs Second HPC Meeting on Student Accommodation

NEW DELHI: Education Minister Ashish Sood today (08.10.2026) chaired the second meeting of the High-Powered Committee (HPC) on Student Accommodation and Safety.
The committee was constituted following the tragic incident in Satya Niketan to establish comprehensive regulations for paying guest (PG) accommodations and hostels across Delhi.
The meeting focused on strengthening safety measures, improving regulatory frameworks, and finalizing immediate operational steps involving all key stakeholders, including the Delhi Development Authority (DDA), Municipal Corporation of Delhi (MCD), Delhi Police, and universities in the national capital.

Key Decisions Taken in the Meeting:
Launch of a Simplified Data Portal: Progress was made on creating a web portal to capture student location and accommodation data. The portal will remain simple during its initial rollout to collect essential details—such as room counts and basic amenities—without causing panic among operators.
Sub-Committee on Master Plan & DMC Act Norms: A dedicated sub-committee comprising the DDA, MCD, Delhi Government, and DU Vice-Chancellor will examine necessary relaxations in the Master Plan and the DMC Act. The focus is to explore whether relaxations can be granted within a 5–6 km radius of major educational hubs as well as in group housing societies and RWA areas to enable legal, safe PG operations.
Immediate On-Ground Inspections: MCD and DDA teams will jointly initiate field inspections of 100 identified cases over the next three days to review safety standards and legal compliance.
Enhanced Police Safety Mandates: Suggestions were made that future regulations should mandate CCTV coverage with 40–45 days of recording backup at all entry points, exit points, and common areas of PG accommodations, while keeping personal spaces private.
Quotes from Delhi Education Minister Ashish Sood:

“Following the tragic incident in Satya Niketan, a high-powered committee involving all departments was formed to decide regulations regarding the functioning of PGs and hostels in Delhi. Progress was made on creating a portal to capture data on students and paying guest accommodations. We will be launching the portal very soon so that it is known where children are living in Delhi and in what kind of accommodation, enabling us to regulate them.”
“Where issues are arising in legal operations due to restrictions in the Master Plan and DMC Act, a sub-committee will sit to study that. This includes representatives from the DDA, the Delhi Government, the MCD, and the Vice-Chancellor of Delhi University so that necessary changes in standards can also be discussed.”

“As we stated earlier, we will soon bring PG regulations and laws to streamline this system. We are committed to providing safe and affordable housing, and we are working rapidly toward it.”
Next Steps:
Portal Rollout & Dry Run: DU and MCD will run initial tests within 2–4 days, followed by an official government campaign for student registration.
Next HPC Meeting: The High-Powered Committee will reconvene after Dussehra to review sub-committee reports and finalize the regulatory draft.