CHENNAI: With just three days to go before the deadline set by the government for women’s hostels to get registered with the district collectorate, only 564 of the 2,000-odd hostels in Chennai had done so till January 8. The rest, which is almost threefourths of the total number, face closure.Only 100 applications for regitration were filed in ten days between December 30 and January 8. An official said the collectorate had convened a meeting last week with hostel owners to explain the process and ensure compliance. During the meeting, it was decided to simplify the registration process and facilitate single window clearance for getting licences in future. Chennai district collector A Shanmuga Sundram issued an ultimatum to register women’s hostels by December 31, 2018, but later extended the deadline to January 21.The extension has not borne much results. As per the Tamil Nadu Hostels & Homes for Women & Children (Regulation) Rules, 2015, all women’s and children’s hostels must be registered with the respective district collectorate. The latest round of inspections and strictures followed the arrest of a 48-year-old man for hiding cameras in a working women’s hostel in Adambakkam The district administration has warned of criminal action against owners of unregistered hostels.R Aparna, an inmate of working women’s hostel at Porur said working women would be affected if the unregistered hostels were shut. “Many working women look for hostels close to their workplaces. If unregistered hostels are closed, they need to spend more looking for another accommodation near their workplaces,” she said. Noting that she was staying at a registered hostel, the women employed in ITES sector said, “Inmates of unregistered hostels would also incur monetary losses as their payment towards advance would go for a toss.”

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