Chief Minister P.S. Tamang on Tuesday, while presenting the General Budget in the Assembly Session 2022-2023 in the Sikkim Legislative Assembly, assured Sikkimese people that the goal of having a cancer treatment centre in home State will be fulfilled soon. He highlighted in his Legislative Assembly Budget session, 2022-2023, that the government is collaborating with the GC Group of Company & its consortium partners to build a Rs. 2000 crore cancer hospital at Karfectar in South Sikkim. He further highlighted the state government’s plans on building more healthcare centres at numerous places in Sikkim, namely:
Namchi, where a 300-bedded hospital is to be built at the sanctioned cost of Rs. 561.26 crore, whose construction started in September 2021.
Singtam, where a 300-bedded District hospital is in line to be built at the sanctioned cost of Rs. 552.19 crore.
Gyalshing, where a 50-bedded critical care block is planned to be built, at the District Hospital there, with all the required medical equipment at a cost of Rs. 23.76 crore, which is to be sanctioned this fiscal year.
And Soreng, where a 100-bedded District Hospital is in at an estimated cost of Rs. 236.11 crore
It was informed to the house that all these upgrades were in line, looking at the need now in upgrades in the Sikkimese health care sector. Chief Minister highlighted that a steady increase in the occurrence of cancer in Northeast and mountainous regions of India was observed, and according to the leading anatomical sites of cancer, it was found that Sikkimese male suffer mostly from stomach, oesophagus and lung cancer and females suffer from breast, cervix, uteri and stomach cancer. Therefore, an incumbent need was seen for a cancer hospital in the state, and also seeing the need for more healthcare infrastructures the government had lined up these healthcare projects.
“I assure the people of Sikkim that your dream to have a cancer treatment centre in home State will be fulfilled in course of time,” Chief Minister addressed the people of Sikkim.
Further, in his same address in the SLA Budget session, he said, “We would like to, therefore, concentrate on both preventive and curative aspects of cancer management. We have set up Tertiary Cancer Care Centre and also VRDL at STNM Hospital, Cardiac Care Sub Centre at Jorethang CHC. For more universal intervention, we are collaborating with the GC Group of Company & its consortium partners to build a Rs. 2000 crore cancer hospital at Karfectar in South Sikkim. We have already earmarked 50 acres of land and the foundation will be laid soon.”
The Chief Minister further mentioned that Sikkim government, with the Union government is “seriously negotiating” on different infrastructure transformation projects, which would transform the physical infrastructure of the state, and create new avenues in various sectors, in which healthcare was deemed primary.
