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University college hostels have given in to inflation this season. Thanks to the steep hike in electricity charges, students from outside the city will have to shell out more to stay on the campus this year as colleges plan to increase the fees for hostels by up to Rs 10,000 annually. Colleges say maintenance and electricity have become dearer and they have no option but to raise the fee if facilities are to be provided. "We had to increase the fee as we have to run the hostel on a no-profitno-loss basis. Our audit had shown that the hostel was running in loss, " said P. C. Jain, principal, Shri Ram College of Commerce, where the fees have been hiked by nearly Rs 10,000. The hostel residents at the college will have to pay Rs 38,065 this year - which includes electricity and water charges for three months only. "The electricity charges, costs of maintenance, sanitation, and other facilities have gone up and we get no grants from the UGC for running the hostel, " Jain added. College hostels provide the cheapest accommodation for students joining DU every year. But the hostel fee is now comparable with the paying guest accommodation available outside the campus. Following a 15-20 percent hike in the rent of PG accommodation this year, a student can find a room for a monthly rent of anything between Rs 5,000-Rs 10,000 in areas such as Mukherjee Nagar, Vijay Nagar, Malkaganj and the neighborhood. The hostel fee of a college like Daulat Ram is over Rs 50,000 at the time of admission plus Rs 17,500 extra for the mess. DU officials said NDPL, the electricity provider in the area, charges the hostel as per the tariffs for a commercial set-up which are almost double the domestic charges. There was also a hike of nearly 21 per cent this year. All North Campus college hostels were renovated for accommodating foreign visitors during the Commonwealth Games in 2010 following which their maintenance has also become more expensive. "We have to hike the fee to be able to bear the cost of basic amenities. The increase in the fee is going to be on actual basis and electricity charges will be divided among the residents in every semester, " Hans Raj College principal V. K. Kwatra said. Kirori Mal College (KMC) and Hindu College, however, have not hiked their fee this year.