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Pune’s government cancer hospital project moves forward
Authorities speed up land exchange process to set up facility near Sassoon hospital.
The long-awaited ambitious plan of having a government cancer hospital run by Sassoon General Hospital in Pune which was till recently stuck, has now moved a step forward with the process of relocation of slum dwellers being taken up by the slum redevelopment corporation.
With the city facing an imminent need of a government-run cancer hospital, the authorities are expected to speed up the slum relocation work and make way for the hospital to come up.
Officials from Sassoon General said, “The proposed government cancer hospital is supposed to come up on the Maharashtra State Road Development Corporation (MSRDC) land near the existing Sassoon General Hospital. Two years ago, in exchange of the MSRDC land near Sassoon General Hospital, the hospital had offered to give away the land owned by the hospital's mental health department at Vishrantwadi.”
They added that the project later got stuck after the people residing on the land at Vishrantwadi refused to move, making the exchange of land deal between Sassoon and MSRDC difficult.
Speaking about the present status of the hospital, Dean, Sassoon General Hospital, Dr Ajay Chandanwale said, "Having a government cancer hospital is the need of the hour. A proposal to set up this cancer hospital run by Sassoon was approved by the state government around 3.5 years back and we are still waiting for it to be set up."
Dr Chandanwale said that even as the project has got stuck for a long time things are now moving and the cancer hospital is likely to be set up soon.
He said that the process of relocation of residents from the hospital’s Vishrantwadi land which would be exchanged with MSRDC has began which is a positive step towards setting up of the hospital.
"We would be giving 2.5 acre of land at Vishrantwadi to MSRDC. In exchange, MSRDC would give 2.22 acres of its land at Mangalwarpeth near Sassoon hospital for setting up the cancer hospital. Once the land exchange is completed we will start the work of constructing a 350-bed hospital which would treat all sorts of cancers," said Dr Chandanwale.
When contacted an official from Slum Redevelopment Corporation who refused to be named confirmed that they have began with the process of relocating the residents from the Vishrantwadi land owned by Sassoon's mental health department.
"We have completed the survey and around 40-50 families would be shifted. We have started the form filling process with these families and the actual relocation is expected to start soon," said the officials. The officials added that the residents would be relocated to Dhanori from Vishrantwadi.