Ernakulam District Co-operative Bank may agree at 10 per cent for cancer centre loan

Kochi: The Ernakulam District Co-operative Bank (DCB) may scale down the interest rate on the Rs 450-crore loan for the proposed Kochi cancer centre to 10 percent from 12, which it is currently demanding.

“The government has not accepted our demand and is pressurising us to bring the rate down. Hence we may be forced to settle for 10 percent. The Rs 470 crore loan to Kochi Metro carry 10 percent interest. The cancer centre is a humanitarian cause as well. Anyway, we cannot go down further from 10 pc,” DCB president N. P. Paulose told DC on Sunday.

Ernakulam Government Medical College principal Dr Aswini Kumar told DC that he had received instructions from the higher-ups to prepare the infrastructure to start the cancer outpatient wing at the medical college in November first week.

“We are very keen on starting it as our patients too will benefit from the move,” said Dr Kumar.

He said that a sum of Rs 10 crore will be needed to start the OP. “This will be needed for purchasing equipment and deploying staff and preparing infrastructure,” he said.

It is understood that the Rs 10 crore promised by excise minister K. Babu from the corporate social responsibility (CSR) fund of Beverages Corporation will be used for starting the OP.

“We cannot advance the amount as part of our loan commitment. First a society has to be formed on the lines of the one at RCC and DCB will be giving loan to this society on the basis of the guarantee provided by the government. This will take some time,” said Mr Paulose.

Dr Kumar said the building of the medical college will be used only for the functioning of the outpatient wing.