BHUBANESWAR: The proposed Rs 650 crore Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (HBCHRC), a joint venture of Department of Atomic Energy (DAE), Tata Trusts and National Institute of Science Education and Research (NISER) at Jatni, seems to have hit a roadblock with Tata Trusts backing out of the project. Prime Minister Narendra Modi had laid the foundation stone for the hospital, which will come up on the NISER campus, two months back in May.
Tata Trusts had committed Rs 250 crore for hospital infrastructure while DAE would have spent the rest Rs 400 crore.The state government has promised to provide around 40 acre of land free for the hospital apart from Rs 100 crore for a medical cyclotron for the hospital, which will not only provide affordable cancer care to patients but also help the institute conduct clinical and scientific research.
While the Tata Trusts has not been forthcoming on the reasons for its pullout, it is said to be due to financial considerations. Meanwhile, even as Tata Steel has come forward to replace it, sources said, the hospital project will now be considerably delayed.“It is unlikely that the construction would start before September. The project was announced in July 2022 and targeted to be completed within 18 months. The deadline has lapsed,” they said.
This apart, resistance from locals during possession of land has also delayed the project. The state government is yet to hand over the land it had committed for the project. Khurda district administration has identified a patch of 30 acre of land in close proximity to NISER and a crematorium needs to be shifted to vacate land for the project. But, locals are opposing the shifting of the crematorium. The district administration will also have to evict some encroachments on the rest of the land parcel. However, it has agreed to provide a suitable piece of land in exchange for the crematorium, sources said.
“After Tata Trusts withdrew, a fresh MoU has been signed recently for the 200-bed hospital between Tata Memorial Centre, Tata Steel and NISER. Hospital construction will start after the survey of land which is going on,” said an official of NISER associated with the project.
As part of the project, he said, a team of medical professionals has been engaged for a population-based cancer registry in Khurda district. “It will be extended to Ganjam and Mayurbhanj districts in the second phase. Preventive oncology programmes will also start soon as we await hospital construction in 18 months,” he added.Tata Trusts had earlier withdrawn from the state government’s most ambitious cancer care programme a couple of years back.