Access to specialized healthcare within one's home district is vital for people battling life-threatening illnesses, yet bureaucratic stagnation and funding delays have crippled such hopes in Rajasthan's Jhalawar. The tertiary cancer care center under construction at Jhalawar Medical College has remained incomplete for thirteen long years. A chronically sluggish pace of construction, coupled with an extended halt during the coronavirus pandemic, led to steep cost escalations. The project now faces an immediate stalemate due to a shortfall of 4 crore 46 lakh rupees required to finish the building. With physical work suspended for lack of funds, cancer patients from Jhalawar district and neighbouring districts of Madhya Pradesh are forced to undertake arduous journeys to major metropolitan hubs for basic therapy.
Struggles for Patients Across State Borders
Without an operational tertiary facility locally, patients needing radiation, chemotherapy, and surgical interventions have little choice but to travel to Jaipur, Kota, or distant cities like Delhi and Mumbai. These long travels impose severe physical suffering on individuals already weakened by advanced illnesses. In addition, the expenses associated with travel, boarding, and costly private treatments place an unbearable financial load on poor and middle-class families. For communities residing in the border areas of Madhya Pradesh, Jhalawar is the closest major healthcare destination, but the stalled hospital building leaves them without affordable local alternatives.
Jaipur and Bikaner Centers Running, Jhalawar Left Behind
Highlighting the glaring disparities, cancer patient and former Congress district president Raghuraj Singh Hada raised serious objections against the administrative handling of the project. He pointed out that under the 2013 national policy framework, allocations were made to establish a state-level cancer facility in Jaipur along with tertiary centers in both Bikaner and Jhalawar. While the units in Jaipur and Bikaner became operational years ago and treat thousands of patients daily, Jhalawar's center remains caught in administrative inertia. Pointing to the recent allocation of 149 crore rupees sanctioned for Kota, he emphasized that the Jhalawar building has not received the necessary capital to procure critical medical equipment.
Sharp Cost Escalation and PPP Mode Concerns
The prolonged delay has significantly driven up procurement estimates. In 2013, Jhalawar Medical College was allocated 15 crore rupees for a linear accelerator machine and 3 crore rupees for a high-dose rate brachytherapy unit. Due to inflation and technological updates over the past decade, these machine costs have surged to approximately 36 crore rupees and 7 crore rupees respectively. Hada alleged that officials cited the thirteen-year project stall in a meeting as a pretext to hand over the equipment operations to a public-private partnership model. He warned that running the cancer unit on a PPP framework would commercialize vital therapy, rendering it unaffordable for disadvantaged patients who depend on state healthcare.
Doctor Transfers and Slashed Medication Funds
Concerns were also raised regarding the existing day-care cancer center at Jhalawar. Hada alleged that despite sanctioned specialist positions, two oncologists were transferred to new postings in Ganganagar instead of being retained to strengthen local services. Furthermore, he claimed that the procurement budget for oncology drugs at the day-care center has been trimmed, creating shortages of essential free medications. To break the deadlock, he urged sitting members of Parliament and the legislative assembly to step forward and contribute from their local area development funds to finish the hospital without further procedural delay.
Hospital Administration Response and Six-Month Target
Addressing the pending construction, Dr Sanjay Porwal, Principal and Controller of Jhalawar Medical College, explained the administrative side of the deadlock. He confirmed that progress slowed considerably during the coronavirus pandemic, inevitably pushing up project expenditure. Dr Porwal clarified that the majority of civil structural work is finished, but completing the remaining interior and utility tasks requires the additional 4 crore 46 lakh rupees. A detailed proposal has already been forwarded to the state government. Once clearance and funds are received, the Rajasthan State Road Development and Construction Corporation is expected to conclude the balance work within six months. Until then, however, cancer patients across the region must continue bearing the burden of seeking care far from home.
