KOCHI: The State Government which failed to pursue the '45 crore offered by former Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad for the Kochi cancer centre, is still dragging its feet on securing Central funds for the centre.
“We have already approached the Centre for upgrading the Regional Cancer Centre, Thiruvananthapuram to a national cancer centre and the Malabar Cancer Centre into a state cancer institute.
If we approach the Centre for all the cancer centres at the same time, we may not get anything,” the Chief Minister told DC on Saturday pointing to the reason for not forcing the case of Kochi cancer centre before the Centre.
CPM leader and Rajya Sabha MP P Rajeev said that despite his best efforts to push the case with the Centre, the State could not do anything in this regard.
“When I had met the former PM Manmohan Singh, he had agreed to it in-principle and the then Union Health Minister Ghulam Nabi Azad even announced Rs 45 crore for it.
But the state government could not secure this amount. It has not even bothered to submit a detailed project report to the Centre on it,” Rajeev told DC.
Chief Minister Oommen Chandy also said that those who wanted the Kochi cancer hospital cum research centre to materialize should realize that all options should be explored for raising funds.
“When the proposal for the annuity scheme came, there was a big hue and cry. We are not setting up the centre in the private sector.
The government is strapped for cash but at the same time wants the cancer centre to be set up. If we insist that only government funds should be used for setting up the centre, then it would be realised slowly.
Corporate Social Responsibility funds of companies and a lottery are options for raising funds. But nothing has been finalized,” Oommen Chandy told DC.
Rajeev said floating a lottery for setting up a cancer centre did not sound good and there should be budgetary provision for it.
The cancer hospital cum research centre should be set up as a state-centre project, Rajeev added.
