13 July,2026 01:03 PM IST | Mumbai | mid-day online correspondent
Representational Image. Pic/Pixabay
A Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit has highlighted widespread shortcomings in Maharashtra's government-run and government-aided student hostels, citing inadequate infrastructure, safety lapses, financial irregularities and the existence of non-functional hostels that continued to receive government funding.
The findings are part of the CAG's report for 2024, which was tabled in the Maharashtra Legislature on July 10. The audit covered the period from 2022 to 2024 and included physical inspections of 18 government hostels and 21 government-aided hostels across the state.
As of March 2024, Maharashtra had 443 government-run and 2,388 government-aided hostels accommodating 1,21,971 boys and 40,543 girls. During the audit period, the state spent Rs 2,321 crore on these facilities.
The CAG found that several hostels lacked essential amenities required for students' welfare and academic development. Missing facilities included dining halls, libraries, computer laboratories, CCTV surveillance systems, daily newspapers, televisions and power backup through inverters.
The report also noted that regular medical check-ups for students were largely absent.
At four hostels, students were forced to eat while sitting on the floor because dining tables and chairs were unavailable, while some hostels did not even have dedicated dining areas.
The audit further highlighted deficiencies in basic services, including inadequate washrooms, poor-quality food, insufficient lighting, lack of clean drinking water and the absence of the mandatory one-month reserve stock of food grains.
The report pointed to violations of accessibility guidelines meant for students with disabilities.
Although government rules require differently-abled students to be accommodated on the ground floor, hostels in Moshi, Ahmednagar, Dharashiv, Jat, Jalna and Manish Nagar in Nagpur had allotted them rooms on upper floors without providing appropriate accessibility infrastructure.
The audit also found that biometric attendance systems were largely non-functional. Of the 280 government hostels equipped with biometric systems, only 46 had functioning attendance mechanisms during the inspection.
One of the audit's major findings relates to government-aided hostels that were found to be non-operational despite receiving financial assistance.
Of the 21 aided hostels inspected, six were either permanently locked or still under construction, with no students or staff present. The CAG classified these as non-functional hostels and noted that the Department of Social Justice and Special Assistance had disbursed Rs 1.62 crore to these institutions over four years.
Among the cases cited was Modikhan Hostel in Jalna, where the building was found locked and in a dilapidated condition despite official records showing 38 students and one superintendent. According to the report, the state paid Rs 18 lakh in honorariums to the hostel over four years.
Similarly, Jafrabad Hostel, built to accommodate 24 students, was found to have no occupants, with unused beds covered in dust. Comparable findings were reported at hostels in Golapangri, Belora, Sindkhed Raja and Latur.
The audit also highlighted administrative shortcomings, including unspent allocations and staff shortages.
Of the Rs 487 crore allocated for government hostels during the 2023-24 financial year, Rs 56.65 crore remained unutilised.
The report said delays in implementing the government's plan to establish at least one hostel in every taluka have left around 8,930 students in 117 talukas without hostel facilities.
In addition, 49 government hostels were functioning without superintendents. The audit also noted that five girls' hostels located in Vashi, Ambad, Kuhi in Nagpur, Khamgaon and Ahmedpur were being managed by male superintendents.
According to the CAG, the Maharashtra government's plan to establish 500 government hostels by 2020 has not been achieved.
The report said that only 443 government hostels had been established by the target year despite budgetary provisions for expansion. It observed that delays in construction and implementation had affected the availability of hostel facilities for students from socially and economically disadvantaged backgrounds.
(With inputs from IANS)
