The State Government has decided to provide financial support of Rs 150 crore to the Tata Memorial Centre (TMC) for construction of a state-of-the-art paediatric cancer facility at the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre (HBCHRC) at Jatni.
State Health and Family Welfare Secretary Shalini Pandit has informed about the decision of the Government to provide funds for the project to the TMC in a letter on Friday.
“The State Government will support funding of Rs 150 crore (80 crores for the building and 70 crore for the equipment) for construction of a state-of-the-art paediatric cancer facility at the Cancer Hospital. This amount will be placed with TMC, Mumbai for the purpose,” the Secretary said.
The Government has also decided to provide financial support of Rs 120 crore for establishment of a Dharmashala-cum-guesthouse in the vicinity of the hospital. The fund will be given for construction of two blocks of the Dharmasala-cum-guesthouse.
The State Works Department would construct the guesthouse in consultation with a TMC team and later it would be handed over to the TMC, Pandit said.
On October 3, Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had laid the foundation-stone for the Homi Bhabha Cancer Hospital and Research Centre at the NISER campus in Jatni.
Notably, the Government of Odisha has signed an MoU with the TMC in September 2022 for establishment of a 200-bed cancer hospital by the TMC in the campus of NISER at Jatni near Bhubaneswar.
The Tata Steel Foundation will build the hospital at a cost of Rs 250 crore and donate it to the TMC and the Department of Atomic Energy for running it. The Department of Atomic Energy has sanctioned Rs 400 crore to purchase equipments, construct the Dharmashala, residential complex and hire human resources. The hospital will be fully commissioned by December 2025.
- The facility will house the latest cancer treatment technology, including radiation therapy, advanced surgery, chemotherapy, targeted therapies, and stem cell transplant to ensure that patients receive the best-possible care.
