Why working women in Chennai may have nowhere to go

CHENNAI: The Chennai collector may have asked private hostels housing working women to apply for licences by December 31, but response has been tepid. And with police visiting these facilities and asking owners to comply or close down, the occupants are in a quandary.



While women in hostels are worried that they may be rendered homeless, those in PGs are confused as these find no mention either in the Tamil Nadu Hostels and Homes for Women and Children (Regulation) Act, 2014 or in the collector’s order.

There are more than 3,000 houses that rent out rooms to working women. As per the act, a hostel means a building in which women, children or both are accommodated. However, it does not mention minimum occupants, nor does it throw light on houses converted into hostels.

Nidhi Rai, an HR professional who stays at a PG in Mylapore, has been asked to vacate. “Police visited the house and the owners have decided to shut down. Unlike a hostel, in a PG we can check the kitchen hygiene and everything is flexible,” she said.

“We do not know why PGs are included in this as they can never be run like a hostel,” said Varsha Jain, a psychologist who stays in a PG.

But it is this same loophole that PG owners use to have a free run. Residents have been renting out rooms to women citing them as relatives. Several buildings rent out an entire floor to more than 20 women. In some areas, a three-floor apartment is run as PGs. Mandated certificates on building fitness, fire safety and sanitation are not obtained. Minimum space of 125sqm per person is hardly followed as some PGs have bunk beds. Separate dining area, recreational room and security guards are not available.

Rajesh M, a PG owner, said PGs run on smaller budgets. “We cannot provide infrastructure like hostels. We cannot run around government departments seeking clearances,” he said.

The law states that a hostel housing working women should be licenced and those with more than 50 occupants should have a manager and CCTV cameras. “Every street in Chennai has a PG and it is impossible for us to check every home. A huge challenge lies ahead of us and we are looking at policies. Hostels are not coming forward to register themselves and we have an issue with PGs. We may work out separate rules for PG. Every PG or hostel must be registered,” said social welfare director A Amruthavalli.

Apart from a policy and inclusion in the act, women said there was a need for a separate body that could cater to the needs of working women who would conduct inspections and monitor the entire sector like a child welfare committee.