Hostel operators ignore licence directive

Coimbatore: It’s been four months since the social welfare department served notices to over 400 women’s hostels, asking them to obtain the mandatory licence. But only 15 hostel operators applied.
Of the 15, five operators have obtained licence. “We had identified over 1,000 hostels in the city and issued notices to over 400 of them in August,” an official with the department said.

The department had served the notices after the owner and warden of a women’s hostel at Peelamedu were booked for allegedly harassing the inmates. “Along with the application, hostel operators will have to submit fire safety certificate, sanitation certificate, building stability certificate and building approval licence. A team from the department will inspect the facility before the licence is issued,” the official said.

After the Tamil Nadu Hostels and Homes for Women and Children (Regulation) Act, 2014 was passed, the department had advertised about the act in newspapers and had conducted meetings with hostel operators to create awareness. As per the act, hostels, lodging houses and homes for women and children would be regulated and licenced to ensure the safety of the inmates. “But the response from the operators was lukewarm,” the official told TOI.

Apart from waiting for the operators to submit the application, what else is the department doing, asked MV Vijayaragavan, an advocate, explaining that unless the department gets into action, it is difficult to regularize the system. “There is not much awareness among the hostel operators about it. The department has not done anything productive to create awareness. Even the few, who are aware of it, are reluctant because running a facility without licence would do no harm to them.”

Obtaining the certificates to be submitted with application is extremely time consuming, said hostel operator V Priya. “To obtain a fire safety certificate, the facility should be equipped with fire extinguishers and emergency exit, which are very costly for small hostel operators. Also, some hostels operate from rented building and obtaining the original blueprint and building licence from the owners is tedious,” she said.