Hyderabad Hostels, PGs Get 3-Month Deadline as HYDRAA Sets January 1 for Inspections

HYDRAA Commissioner A.V. Ranganath has made it clear that there will be no compromise on the safety of people living in hostels and paying guest accommodations across Hyderabad. He warned that facilities operating from dangerous or unauthorised buildings will face action and urged operators to shift to structurally sound premises with all required approvals. Operators currently running hostels in unsafe buildings have been given three months to relocate.

The move is particularly significant for Hyderabad’s large population of students and working professionals, many of whom live in private hostels and PG accommodations across the city’s IT corridor. Areas such as Gachibowli, Madhapur and Kondapur have hundreds of hostels and PGs catering to employees working in the technology and corporate sectors, and recent inspections and reports have highlighted concerns over fire safety, overcrowding and building permissions in some of these premises.

HYDRAA will begin inspections from January 1, after the three-month period ends. Officials will examine buildings for structural safety, required permissions, fire-safety arrangements and emergency exits. Buildings found to pose a serious risk of collapse could face removal, while action will be taken against facilities violating prescribed norms.

The crackdown follows recent building accidents, including the collapse of a construction-stage building in Anjaiah Nagar, Gachibowli, which killed two people and damaged nearby structures. Ranganath also referred to the September 6 collapse of a paying guest accommodation in Delhi, in which seven people died.

At a meeting with hostel operators and building owners, Ranganath stressed that fire safety, emergency exits and structural stability cannot be compromised to reduce operating costs or offer cheaper accommodation.

HYDRAA will coordinate with the three municipal corporations to inspect unauthorised hostel buildings. The action is not aimed at shutting down every hostel or PG; rather, premises that fail to meet safety and building requirements are likely to come under scrutiny.

Ranganath also warned against highly congested construction, describing seven-storey buildings on 50-square-yard plots as extremely dangerous. He said six hazardous buildings near the Anjaiah Nagar collapse site had already been removed.

He also cited the 2024 Siddiqnagar building-tilting incident and said earlier inspections had found several hostels violating regulations.

HYDRAA Additional Director Varla Papayya explained the risks associated with building fires, unauthorised structures and ageing buildings, urging operators to treat safety requirements as essential rather than optional.

One important editorial point:

I would use “hostels and PG accommodations” in the headline/body rather than saying “HYDRAA targets PGs.” That is more accurate because the current HYDRAA announcement specifically refers to hostels, while the wider Hyderabad reporting establishes that many PGs used by working professionals have similar building and safety issues.