State govt may outsource cancer wing upkeep

SHILLONG: The state government is planning to outsource the management and maintenance of the cancer wing at Shillong Civil Hospital under public private partnership.
Health and Family Welfare Minister AL Hek said on Tuesday the government is exploring the idea of floating an expression of interest (EoI) for outsourcing the project once it is commissioned.
The cancer wing at the city hospital has been hanging fire for over seven years despite high prevalence of the disease in Meghalaya.
The project started in 2011 with a funding of Rs 26 crore from the Department of Atomic Energy, Government of India.
Hek said the civil construction work of the building is 90 percent complete and the department has “some minor works like preparing sewerage treatment plant, drainage and (installing) fire-fighting equipment, among others”.
The government needs around Rs 4 crore more to complete the work.
In 2015, a team from the Department of Atomic Energy had pulled up the state government for the delay.