CHENNAI: The Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare Department will renovate 535 hostels across the state at a cost of Rs 100 crore. The work is expected to begin next week and will be completed within six months. This initiative will focus on addressing water and sanitation in hostels apart from improving their overall condition, officials said.
During a district collectors’ meeting held in October last, Chief Minister MK Stalin announced that the repair of Adi Dravidar and Tribal Welfare hostels would be undertaken within the next two years. Following this, the department has begun assessing the works that have to be carried out in 535 hostels.
Of these, 15 are tribal welfare hostels in Chennai, Vellore, Villupuram, Salem, Coimbatore, Tiruchy, Thanjavur, Madurai and Tirunelveli.
While there are 1,378 school and college hostels managed by the department, the renovation will exclude those located on rented premises or recently repaired.
“Usually, hostel renovations are carried out at a cost of Rs 3 crore to Rs 4 crore. However, this has been increased to Rs 10 crore in the past two years. With Rs 100 crore allocated for this project, we plan to bring significant improvement to the living condition and also address major issues,” T Anand, director of the department, said. Additionally, 60 hostels will be converted from school to college facilities to meet increasing demand and works are under way, he added.
While the government has allocated Rs 75 crore for the project, the rest of the funds will come from the Tamil Nadu Adi Dravidar Housing & Development Corporation Ltd which is the execution agency for the project.
In a government order allocating the money, the government has said the department should spend the money within the financial year or send it back.
Work expected to get over in six months
The work is expected to begin next week and will be completed within six months. The initiative will focus on addressing water and sanitation in hostels apart from improving their overall condition