The Odisha government on Sunday signed an MoU with Tata Trusts, Mumbai to set up a state-of-the-art Cancer Treatment and Research Hospital in Bhubaneshwar.

The MoU was signed in the presence of Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik and Tata Trusts Chairman Ratan N. Tata. As part of the MoU, Tata Trusts will set up and manage the cancer treatment facility in Bhubaneswar and it will be benchmarked to the Tata Memorial Hospital, Mumbai. The Odisha government will facilitate and contribute in setting up the centre by providing land to the extent of 25 acres free of cost, said a statement. The comprehensive care programme will be set up through a three-tier network of facilities with the Tata Trusts's proposed centre at Bhubaneswar and Acharya Harihar Regional Cancer Centre in Cuttack as apex centres, it added.

The medical colleges in the state and the district hospitals will be equipped to offer diagnostics and standardised day care chemotherapy with selected district hospitals additionally offering radiotherapy services, the statement said. This will create a state-wide cancer care network with an objective to take treatment closest to patients. The state government has decided to set programme priorities through an advisory committee headed by the Chief Secretary. It will recommend a Special Programme Management Entity, with members from the state government and Tata Trusts, for executing the proposed network of cancer care facilities.

A sum of Rs 800 crore has been earmarked for executing and grounding the cancer care projects under the programme over a period of next five years. Of this, Odisha's share will be Rs 500 crore, while Tata Trusts have committed Rs 300 crore. The state government will also fund the operational expenses of all facilities established under the programme and will support in full the free treatment of poor and needy patients.