Rs 76 Crore Sanctioned for GMCH Radiotherapy Department

The state government has given administrative approval for upgradation of the radiotherapy department in the Government Medical College and Hospital (GMCH) and sanctioned Rs76.10 crore for construction in phase I. As per the GR dated March 6, 2019, the government has allocated Rs76.10 crore for construction. However, for the first time, the government has selected NIT for construction work instead of PWD. Though the government is calling it ‘upgradation’, it is part of the Cancer Institute sanctioned earlier at GMCH. Sources in the directorate of medical education and research (DMER) told TOI that the construction was a part of the proposed institute. The new institute building, a ground-plus two structure, will come up on a new area of about 1600 sq mt near the library. The ground floor will house radiation equipment, the hospital, medical oncology OPD and a medical ICU. The first floor will house the surgical oncology wing comprising gynaec, pediatric, ENT, head and neck and various other branches. It will also have wards and OPD for these branches. The second floor will mainly have various operation theaters. The surgical and the diagnostic set up will be interconnected.

All the diagnostic equipment and machines like the linear accelerators (2), CT simulator, brachytherapy unit and the cobalt units (2) will be kept on the ground floor. In future, a nuclear medicine section and equipment like a PET scan could be added. The GMCH, however will need a fresh permission of the Bhabha Atomic Research Center (BARC) before beginning the construction. The radiotherapy department in the college, however, neither has any information about the new GR nor received any official communication so far. But sources told TOI that a letter regarding the administrative approval has reached GMCH office. GMCH had long been pursuing the cancer institute project. GMCH Aurangabad got the state cancer institute much ahead of Nagpur as it had already set up a Rs100 crore cancer hospital. State government has always kept the GMCH Nagpur project on back burner but suddenly released a GR ahead of the elections. – TOI