Scores of Delhi University students and civil service aspirants living in rented accommodations in north Delhi have decided to stop paying rent till house owners give them proper receipts.
Six students are also staging an indefinite hunger strike at Christian Colony in North Campus.
Praveen Kumar Singh, convener of the local group ‘Right to Accommodation’, said students end up paying as much as Rs 5,000 per month for six feet by eight feet area in the north Delhi neighbourhood.
He said students face arbitrary increase in rent. “Students come to Delhi from various states. People end up spending 50-70 per cent of their subsistence money in rent. There is a need to fix rent as per the cost of the building at government rates. We also want the Delhi government to enforce the Act to control as accommodation is a major issue in this area,” Singh said.
The local group said some thousand students have stopped paying rent from November. “Landlords didn’t agree to give receipt of rent. So we have stopped paying from November 1,” Singh added.
Students claim that following their protests, some landlords have asked them to vacate their flats.
Singh said the government should put a check on soaring rent in the locality by going for strict implementing of the Delhi Rent Control Act.
“Either the city administration implement the Delhi Rent Control Act or form a regulatory authority to fix rent consulting all the stakeholders, students and landlords, to protect everyone’s interest,” he said.
Delhi Police had earlier denied permission to their indefinite hunger strike. However, six students are went on indefinite hunger strike. “Despite denying permission, Delhi Police allowed us to go on fast,” Singh added.