New Delhi: In the backdrop of the Satya Niketan PG building collapse, the Delhi government, led by Chief Minister Rekha Gupta, is considering a proposal under which registration and licensing could be made mandatory for all such facilities used by students, an official source said on Tuesday.
The terms of registration may include elaborate provisions for CCTV and compulsory posting of a night guard and a warden, said the source.
A provision to regulate rents in PG facilities may also be included in a policy framework that the Delhi government is planning to introduce, on the lines of the one it introduced for Bread and Breakfast guest houses after the deadly fire at Malviya Nagar.
The proposed framework may also include a facility to lodge complaints or rate a PG facility on the “GovPG Portal”, said a source.
A monitoring committee, comprising representatives of colleges and coaching institutions, may also be set up to maintain supervision on PG facilities.
The government is also considering offering tax rebates and other incentives to PG operators who follow the regulatory framework and help it achieve a safe environment for students who use such facilities, said a source.
Earlier in the day, the Delhi Police arrested a labour contractor who was overseeing repairs in the ill-fated Satya Niketan PG building’s basement from Kasganj in Uttar Pradesh.
Labour contractor Sanoj was apprehended in Kasganj and is being brought to Delhi for examination, the police said.
Initial questioning of Sanoj revealed that on the day of the building collapse, the basement floor was being repaired as the waste was getting accumulated during the rainy season for the past eight to 10 days, said the police, adding that the Ground Floor of the building was being repaired for extension for commercial purposes.
Meanwhile, the building owner Urmila, 75, and her retired husband Hariram, 81, were produced in court which sent them to 14 days of judicial custody.
Their son Mahesh was sent to police custody for two days, said an official.
The police said that during questioning, Mahesh told interrogators that he used to manage the maintenance of the building on behalf of his parents. They had given the building on lease to the PG Operators ‘Hostel Daze’ in August 2025.
In another development, Delhi Chief Minister Rekha Gupta said on Tuesday that the civic agency will demolish a dilapidated building next to the site of the ill-fated paying guest (PG) building that collapsed in Satya Niketan, killing seven people two days ago.
(IANS)
