A recent Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) audit of Maharashtra’s student hostels revealed that six non-operational facilities received ₹1.62 crore in government funds over four years. The report highlights broader systemic issues, including poor infrastructure and the failure to meet state construction targets, impacting thousands of students from economically weaker sections.
A new audit report from the Comptroller and Auditor General (CAG) has revealed financial irregularities within Maharashtra’s government-run hostel system. The audit, tabled in the state legislature on July 10, identified six so-called 'ghost hostels' that received ₹1.62 crore in government funding over a four-year period despite having no student occupants.
Oversight and Financial Failures in Social Justice Funds
The Department of Social Justice and Special Assistance, which oversees these facilities, continued to disburse funds to these non-functional sites. The audit provided specific examples of oversight failure, such as the Modikhan Hostel in Jalna, which received ₹18 lakh in honorariums even though the facility was locked and unoccupied. Similar cases of absent students were documented across districts including Buldhana and Latur. The findings suggest that the lack of effective verification processes allowed public money to be directed toward empty buildings rather than student welfare.
Infrastructure and Operational Deficiencies
Beyond the issue of nonexistent occupancy, the audit inspected 39 hostels and uncovered widespread problems regarding basic facilities and safety. Many hostels lacked fundamental infrastructure, such as dining areas, libraries, and CCTV surveillance systems. Student feedback indicated issues with food quality and water supply.
Administrative failures were also noted. For instance, only 46 out of 280 government hostels were equipped with functional biometric systems to track attendance. Furthermore, mandatory buffer stocks of food grains were missing in several locations, which raises concerns about operational readiness. The audit also highlighted staffing gaps, noting that 49 government hostels lacked superintendents, and in five instances, female student hostels were managed by male superintendents, which violates standard administrative and safety protocols.
Impact on Student Access and State Targets
The state government had previously set a goal to establish one hostel per taluka to support students from backward and economically weaker sections. However, the audit found that this target remains incomplete. By the end of the 2023-24 period, ₹56.65 crore of the ₹487 crore allocated for these hostels remained unspent. This underutilization of funds has left nearly 8,930 students without access to hostel facilities. Additionally, the state has struggled to meet its expansion goals, having completed 443 of the 500 hostels planned for construction by 2020.
Moving forward, stakeholders and public auditors will likely monitor whether the state implements stricter biometric verification, improves the management of staffing, and addresses the backlog in hostel construction to ensure that allocated funds reach the intended student population.