BHUBANESWAR: Chief secretary Manoj Ahuja has instructed departments and agencies involved in the construction of the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre at Jatni to expedite the project and complete it at the earliest.
Chairing a review meeting on the project’s progress on Saturday, the chief secretary said the facility is being developed as the first cancer hospital in the public sector in eastern India, offering advanced and specialised care for cancer patients.
Additional chief secretary of Revenue and Disaster Management department DK Singh informed the hospital’s request for additional land to construct wider approach roads. The chief secretary emphasised the need for coordinated efforts to fulfil various requirements for the project, including land acquisition and peripheral development. Discussions were also held on the construction of a pediatric cancer unit, drainage facilities, uninterrupted power supply and a dharmashala for the attendants of patients.
Ahuja also asked the officials to work out strategies for a population-based cancer registry in the state and mitigating future challenges in cancer screening programmes.
Notably, the Odisha government had signed a MoU with Mumbai-based Tata Memorial Cancer Hospital, Tata Steel and National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) in 2023 for this hospital and research institute to be set up at an estimated cost of Rs 650 crore. While the state government has provided around 40 acre of land for free of cost for the hospital, apart from Rs 100 crore for a medical cyclotron for the hospital, the Department of Atomic Energy (DAE) has promised Rs 400 crore and Tata has committed Rs 250 crore.