Nagpur GMCH cancer machine arrives next week, but power connection not arranged

A cutting-edge senior accelerator machine for cancer treatment, costing about Rs 35.82 crore, is due to reach the Government Medical College and Hospital in Nagpur next week. The problem is that the power connection needed to run it has not yet been arranged.

The matter came up during a hearing in the High Court. The court has taken suo motu cognisance and admitted a public interest litigation over the poor state of health services in government hospitals and medical colleges in Vidarbha. The obstacle to installing the machine emerged during the hearing of that petition.

The machine, to be installed at the cancer hospital in the super-speciality hospital, needs a power supply of about 1 MW. The Nagpur Metropolitan Region Development Authority (NMRDA) has completed the bunker required for the machine. However, the original construction proposal made no provision for building a megawatt-capacity power substation or laying a power line. Because of this omission, the medical administration now faces an additional burden of Rs 2.75 crore to obtain the power connection.

At the hearing, amicus curiae Isha Thakre asked the court to direct the state government, NMRDA and Mahavitaran to submit a report on the current position. She also sought permission to make NMRDA and Mahavitaran, Nagpur, respondents in the petition. The High Court allowed the request and adjourned the hearing until the next day.

The process of installing the machine has been stuck for the past six years. The Maharashtra government gave administrative approval of Rs 23.20 crore for its purchase in 2018. But the procurement process kept getting delayed for various reasons. As a result, the cost of the machine, including customs duty, rose to about Rs 48 crore.

Thus, the machine that was approved at Rs 23.20 crore in 2018 is now caught in a power connection hurdle before it can reach patients. All eyes are now on how the state government, NMRDA and Mahavitaran respond at the next hearing.