Who’s who of hostels: the roles and responsibilities of Hostel and HA councils

We, at Insight, realised that many people in the institute are unaware of the roles of Hostel Councils and Hostel Affairs Council, and the differences between them. So, after referring to the SAC constitution and having interviews with a Hostel GSec and an ex-GSHA, we wrote the following article to highlight the roles and responsibilities of the hostel council and hostel affairs council, what differentiates them, and the domains for which they collaborate. It also explains who to approach for different types of grievances and how to escalate hostel-related issues to resolve them.

Hostel Council

Headed by the Hostel General Secretary for each hostel – who is supposed to be elected by general elections. The electorate for the same comprises all hostel residents. 

The roles and responsibilities of a general secretary are as follows:

1. Addresses the issues plaguing students in their hostels
2. Supervises the work of council members and is hence accountable for them
3. Represent their hostel in the Hostel General Secretaries’ Committee (HGSC)
4. Conduct at least one Hostel General Body Meeting (GBM) per semester

The hostel council achieves its goals by calling for regular meetings, the quorum for which consists of the Chairman of the Hostel Wardens Council, the General Secretary, the Warden’s Nominee and the four councillors (see below). In addition to the core responsibilities listed above, the hostel GSecs also oversees the renovation or any big infrastructural overhaul during the summer. These might vary from hostel to hostel, but some examples include renovation of messes, pest control measures, re-painting of rooms, sewer blockage or the conversion of box rooms into washrooms, as in the case of H1. 

Of the various hostel council positions, the position of Warden and Associate Warden is held by a professor, while all others mentioned below are held by students. 

Associate Warden: The role of the associate warden is to look after all daily operations of the mess. They ensure the required food stock is available and look after the menu. They ensure that the mess is cleaned regularly.

The Warden Nominee is appointed by the Warden in consultation with the newly appointed GSec. They assist the general secretary and take over their duties in their absence. Their eligibility criteria are the same as those of the GSec.

One of the essential roles of the Hostel Council, specifically the GSec and the Warden Nominee, is to oversee the elections of the next council at the end of their tenure. Apart from the GSec, the System Administrators(SysAds)  and the hostel councillors are also supposed to be elected by hostel general elections in the hostel and voted by all hostel residents.

The Hostel Council also consists of Hostel Councillors (Maintenance Councilor, Mess Councillor, Cultural Councillor, Sports Councillor, Tech Councilor) and the Hostel System Administrator. The Councillors are assisted by Secretaries, who are usually second-year UG students.

Mess councillor: Oversees mess operations, handles mess menu, and addresses student complaints. Organises events such as special dinners, tea parties, and gala dinners.

Maintenance councillor: Ensures proper maintenance of hostel facilities, including rooms, washrooms, water coolers, cycle stands, drainage systems, and playgrounds. General maintenance of common spaces also falls under their purview.

The Cultural, Sports and Tech Councillor: Organises events and tournaments in their respective vertical within the hostel, and strives for participation in GCs. They also maintain inventory and equipment in the music, tech and sports rooms, respectively. 

Hall manager: Acts in the warden’s stead and looks after the day-to-day activity. They keep the accounts of the hostel and oversee much of the administrative work. They also route your request for extra chairs or cupboards to the HCU or the Estate Office. Their office also stores your prepaid Amazon orders :p

The council is also solely responsible for conducting hostel fests and managing the funds of their hostel, with the hostel affairs council having no role in it. Additionally, changes to common spaces, ideation for new events and looking after the well-being of the residents are the responsibility of the whole council.

Hostel-related problems and Relevant Authorities to approach for the same:

Room Booking for Guest Stay

The Hostel Coordinating Unit deals with room booking for guests. You can approach the hall manager for room booking-related queries and to check for availability. Oftentimes, you might not get a room due to shortage, but in cases of urgency, you can approach the Dean of Student Affairs, who can review your case.

Escalation of problems
For room-related problems, for example, broken cupboard doors and fans, etc., you can file a complaint at support.iitb.ac.in, but a hostel council member need not be approached for the same unless the issue is unresolved.

For wing-level/higher-level problems such as plumbing issues, or unavailability of water, approach the relevant secretary or councillor, and if the issue still needs to be resolved, approach the GSec. You can approach any Institute Secretary of Hostel Affairs (ISHA) or General Secretary of Hostel Affairs (GSHA) after this and, depending on the urgency, the Dean and ADean SA.

In case of urgent assistance, such as in cases of snake encroachment, call the Quick Response Team(QRT). (9167398598,  9833337979,  9833338989 (female QRT))

For LAN problems, approach the hostel system administrator first. They ensure that there is no problem with the wing’s LAN connection. If the problem is not resolved, it is escalated to the Institute System Administrator, and they contact the Computer Centre if the problem is at their end.

For Mess: A lot of people might be unaware that the hostel mess has a complaint register (depending on the contract with the caterer) where you can directly convey your grievances. The Mess Councillor is supposed to float a weekly grievance form to assess if the quality and hygiene of food is up to mark. They are also your point of contact if you don’t get your daily dinner desserts and special lunch dishes. They, along with GSec, are responsible for the implementation of the mess tender/contract.

In cases where the Hostel Council cannot resolve any particular problem, it is their job to take it to either the HA Council or the concerned administrative authority. Feel free to follow up with the hostel council to ask about what steps they have taken, as it is important to hold them accountable

While the Warden and Hall manager are the highest authorities in a hostel, it is recommended to approach student representatives as they are more experienced in dealing with micro issues at the hostel level. Also, in case of persistent problems, one can approach the hostel affairs council. About the same, an ex-GSHA informed us:

“We are always ready to help students, and if they have any problem, they should approach us. You can approach any member of the HA council, but always prefer the GSHA, as they are an elected representative and are more responsible.” 

The GSHA can also help you escalate things directly to the level of the Dean SA based on their urgency.

Hostel Affairs Council 

The Hostel Affairs Council comprises the GSHA, four Insitute Secretaries of Hostel Affairs (ISHA), Institute System Administrators, a Girl’s Nominee, and two Institute Secretaries of International Relations (ISIR), where one is a UG student and the other a PG student. The HA Council also includes a web and design nominee. It looks after the maintenance of infrastructure in the student residential zone and the academic area. 

There are 12 verticals within the HA council:
Estate Office: Looks after all the civil work in the institute. These include but are not limited to painting, horticulture, structural audits and renovation. They also look after the availability of infrastructure, such as chairs and tables.
Electrical Maintenance Division (EMD): Looks after lighting and electrical maintenance across the institute.
Institute-wide facilities: Looks after the construction and maintenance of institute-wide facilities such as the upcoming digital display boards, cycle paths and footpaths.

Security: Ensures the safety of all residents, and is involved in fencing, installation of CCTVs etc. 

Hospital: Any hospital-related grievance can be brought to this vertical. They were involved in the formation of the new Hospital & Health Advisory Committee, which looks after hospital policies. 

Transport: Responsible for ensuring the availability of various modes of transport in the institute, for example, buggies and rentable bikes. To ensure this, they are  bringing in new Zulu scooters to replace MyByk

PHO: Responsible for housekeeping, pest control, garbage collection and disposal, road and stormwater drain cleaning, and mosquito population control around the campus. 

Hostel Coordinating Unit (HCU): Looks after guest room booking and hostel allocation

Eateries: Sets the prices and menu and ensures hygiene in all the institute canteens and eateries (Gulmohar restaurant and Cafe 92 are not included). They are empowered to conduct raids to ensure quality and hygiene with due approval from eateries committee.

Internet and portals: Coordinates along with CC to look after internet and LAN issues

Sustainability cell: works towards sustainable projects and initiatives in the hostels, for example, the introduction of two-bin dustbins in hostels and across the campus and the introduction of the Green Cup.

Gender Cell: to address cases of sexual harassment for women and gender minorities.

Each ISHA is allotted a certain number of these verticals they look after. After the division of these verticals into 4 columns and 3 in each of them, write: the divisions of verticals for an ISHA is variable. 

ISIRs

In addition to the above verticals, there are two ISIRs (1 PG + 1 UG) in the HA council who look into matters related to foreign students. They coordinate with the IR office to manage the allocation of foreign students. One ISIR oversees semester exchange students, while the other handles students who come from abroad to pursue their degrees. They organise orientation sessions for foreign students, assist foreign delegates with campus tours, and sometimes help outside the campus as well. 

The HA Council, through its members, ensures the smooth functioning of the above-mentioned verticals. 

Apart from heading the HA council, the following are the roles of the GSHA:

• They head the Hostel General Secretaries’ Committee (HGSC), Mess Committee and Maintenance Committee. They are also the student representatives in various construction committees in the institute. Along with the Hostel GSecs, they also look after Hostel Allocation for new and existing students. 
• They also finalise the mess tenders, i.e. select a caterer for their mess based on quality of food, cost, etc. (in consultation with the Hostel Council) before sending them to the Dean SA for approval.
• The GSHA,  is part of the Disciplinary Action Committee (DAC) (non-academic) along with the Dean SA, Chairman of the Hostel Warden’s council, a nominated HoD and any other appropriate person who might be co-opted depending on the nature of the misconduct. 

According to the SAC constitution, multiple committees such as those listed below chaired by the GSHA look after various hostel aspects. These committees often include the concerned hostel representative (with the exception of Cult, Sports and Tech) and the members of the HA council.

• Hostel General Secretaries Committee
• Institute Mess Committee
• Institute Maintenance Committee
• Network and Computer Committee

The most important of these committees is the Hostel General Secretaries’ Committee (HGSC), which primarily discusses pervasive Hostel issues, such as the LAN problem last tenure. The HGSC consists of the GSHA, the ISHAs and all the Hostel GSecs. While HGSC meetings are supposed to happen every month, historically, they have not occurred as stipulated due to a lack of Quorum. 

Correlation between Hostel Council and Hostel Affairs Council:

The HA council usually does not interfere with the Hostel Council’s decisions until explicitly requested by the hostel’s residents or the council. They can help the Hostel Council to push for the work when requesting the administration. They can collaborate on many occasions, specifically capital-intensive hostel-related projects such as the H3 juice centre and the playground beside H15. The Hostel Council can also escalate issues it cannot solve to higher authorities, often through the HA Council. Since the GSHA, an institute-level student representative has more authority when dealing with the estate office or the CC, they can serve as an intermediary to solve issues quickly and effectively.

Conclusion

As elected representatives, members of the Hostel Council and the Hostel Affairs Council bear a degree of responsibility and are expected to strive for excellence in fulfilling their duties. Hence, it’s imperative for them to prioritise their roles and work diligently to address the needs of those they represent. That being said, it is important to acknowledge that they also face challenges at times that often can’t be resolved by them alone. An ex-GSHA shed light on this and explained the problems at the ground level.

“After a point, a lot of delayed are because IIT Bombay has more students than its infrastructure can accommodate – the Estate Office has just one Hostel Engineer, and the CC has just one person who looks after network cables.”

With all their capacity, the HA Council and the Hostel Councils are still intermediaries when dealing with matters that require collaboration from the administration, such as the work of the Estate Office or the CC. The council(s) push for changes and flag incomplete work; however, they are personally not responsible for most delays, which we should bear in mind and be patient. Yet, all bodies in the institute – including the Hostel Council, Hostel Affairs Council and various administrative councils strive their best to address students’ concerns and provide solutions as soon as they can. It’s important for us as students to acknowledge their constraints and understand that at the end of the day, all of these stakeholders are trying to make our stay on campus as seamless as possible. 

Editorial Credits: Amogha Pote, Ananya Jain, Shivam Agarwal

0