Excelsior Correspondent
SRINAGAR, Sept 16: State High Court today directed the Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences Srinagar (SKIMS) to submit the report before it indicating there-in the details of constructions and time line about the under-construction State Cancer Institute.
Counsel representing the SKIMS authorities informed the court that the construction of State Cancer Institute being built in SKIMS is at advanced stage. With these submissions, the division bench of Chief Justice Gita Mittal and Justice Rashid Ali Dar directed the Director SKIMS to file a detailed report mentioning there-in the time line and progress of construction with regard to the construction in question.
The petition has been filed by a cancer patient who herself has undergone five cancer removal surgeries on various occasions and believes the State has failed to provide any proper infrastructure or assistance as was due to a citizen in a welfare State as such moved the High Court with a present petition.
It is already said that the project has not moved a step forward and the authorities have failed to utilize the first installment released by the Ministry of Health &Family Welfare, Government of India, during the financial year 2014-15.
As per the information of petitioner counsel the authorities of Institute have not utilized the already sanctioned 1st installment of funds released by the Government of India and, as such, the Central Government has not released the next installment of funds due to non-utilization of the earlier funds.
In this connection, Director SKIMS is under direction status with reference to utilization of funds already sanctioned and released by the Government of India and furnish the details of the progress made in the establishment of the State Cancer Institute at the respondent institute.
The Ministry of Health & Family Welfare, Government of India, under Tertiary Cancer Centre Scheme of National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases & Stroke (NPCDS), has approved setting up of the State Cancer Institute at the SKIMS institute with an estimated cost of Rs. 120.00 crore on Centre/ State share basis (90:10).
In this regard the funds to the tune of Rs.47.25 crores, as 1st installment, stand already sanctioned and released Central for its utilization to purchase various equipments and for undertaking civil works (upto a maximum of 30% of the sanctioned amount) for the proposed SCI.
It is due to failure of the respondent Institute, petitioner counsel says, that the already sanctioned funds on the project were not utilized, so the Central Government has not released the next installment of funds due to non-utilization of the earlier funds. Court has also directed the Central Government counsel to inform in this connection to the court on next date positively.
The petitioner stated that after the commencement of the structural work of the state cancer Institute certain deviations were noticed by the stakeholders in this regard a detailed meeting was conducted by all the HoD’s of Oncological services in the office of Nodal Officer, State Cancer Institute, wherein certain structural flaws were pointed out in the building of State Cancer Institute and same was forwarded to the relevant authorities, till date the said structural flaws have not been rectified, further jeopardizing the chances of health improvement of cancer patient.
The Department of Surgical Oncology was established in SKIMS on the pattern of various renowned health care institutions of the country and Chairman Governing Body, SKIMS was forced to convened a meeting and passed various directions for better functioning of the department, one among them was the Department of Surgical Oncology shall work independently and all logistic support and manpower will be provided to the same.
The Petitioner submitted that due to shortage of operation theatres assigned to the Department of Surgical Oncology, which are able to perform only surgeries twice a week, which has lead to rise in the waiting list of the cancer patients, most of whom die in the waiting list for want of timely intervention.
That the State Government in collaboration with the Central Government paved the way for “State Cancer Institute” the purpose of the said institute is to mitigate the suffering of cancer patient by conducting timely treatment, he stated.
The petitioner prayed that the authorities be directed to comply with the guidelines for strengthening of Tertiary Care of Cancer as provided by Government of India in letter and spirit and they be asked to construct operation theatres in the upcoming State Cancer Institute as per the proposed requisition and the operation theatres for the department of surgical oncology for all seven days in the week be kept available.
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