The reaction to the tragedy at Satya Niketan has unfolded along predictable lines. The municipal body has intensified its sealing and demolition drive. Calls for stricter implementation of building laws and greater regulation have gained traction. Alongside, the Delhi government has pitched for developing hostels for 10,000 students.

Unfortunately, none of this will dramatically alter the situation on the ground. Not only is the capacity of the Indian state to effectively implement the laws and codes it enacts constrained, it also lacks the resources to build the student accommodation on the scale that is required. Delhi University alone is home to almost 2.5 lakh undergraduate and postgraduate students. Juxtaposed against the roughly 9,000 hostel seats that the university and its affiliated colleges offer, it gives a sense of the demand-supply mismatch.

A market has naturally sprung up to bridge the gap. Private alternatives have come up in areas such as Mukherjee Nagar, Kamala Nagar, Ber Sarai, and other locations.

The steady decline of public educational institutions across the country has meant that there are very few islands of excellence that are left. Delhi University, being one of them, will continue to attract students from across the country. But for this large and ever expanding non-resident student........

© Indian Express