14 more working women’s hostels to come up in TN

These hostels provide affordable accommodation for working women, especially those from low income families. According to senior officials from the Social Welfare Department, those who earn up to Rs 25,000 per month in Chennai and Rs 15,000 per month in other places are eligible to get admission in these facilities.

At Rs 300 in Chennai and Rs 200 in other parts of the State, the monthly rent charged by the government-run hostels is much lower that the private facilities. These hostels have a sharing system to meet the expenses for food, electricity and other charges, while the salary for the staff there is paid by the Stategovernment.

To provide the accommodation for women from all sections of the society, the Social Welfare department has also established a special purpose vehicle (SPV) under the Companies Act - Tamil Nadu Working Women Hostels Corporation Limited.The SPV would build six modern hostels that would have rooms with two and three-person accommodation, and dormitories. Social Welfare department joint director S Sundari said that these modern hostels are being built with facilities such as gym, Wi-Fi, banquet halls, libraries, and medical room among other facilities. She added that the safety and security of women were the prime focus of the department.

Apart from the State-run hostels, there are 97 working women’s hostels operated by the non-governmental organisations in Tamil Nadu, with funding support from the Union Government. However, the officials said that the occupancy at the government hostels is low due to the availability of many private hostels across the State.