BENGALURU: The Karnataka High Court on Tuesday directed the state government to address on priority the issue of overcrowding in state-run hostels for scheduled caste and scheduled tribe students, and sought details on the steps taken to fill up vacant posts of wardens.
Hearing a sou motu public interest litigation registered in 2023 on the issue, a division bench of Chief Justice N V Anjaria and Justice K V Aravind orally observed that a “chaotic situation” was created in hostels.
Referring to the report submitted by the state government, the court pointed out that out of the total sanctioned strength of 1,890 posts of senior wardens, 548 were vacant, and out of 518 sanctioned junior warden posts, 53 were vacant.
Citing the number of students in various hostels as per the report, the court noted that more students were admitted than the actual capacity of the hostels. In a post-metric hostel in Sirsi of Uttara Kannada district, 151 students were admitted against the sanctioned strength of 50. In Koppal, 214 students were admitted, against the 75 sanctioned strength. The other two hostels in Koppal are not better since 250 students were admitted against the 100 sanctioned strength, the court pointed out.
Therefore, the state government should submit the details of the steps taken to fill up the vacant posts of wardens, and the measures to be taken to ensure that there is no overcrowding in hostels, the court said, adjourning the hearing to September 30.