State Cancer Institute Kashmir functions on “deployed manpower”

Srinagar, Feb 13: State Cancer institute takes the major burden of cancer cases in J&K, functions on staff borrowed from SKIMS Soura, the Government said today. In the past three years, over 17000 new cases of cancer were diagnosed at State Cancer Institute Kashmir and Jammu.

The details exposing the cancer infrastructure and manpower in J&K were revealed by Government in response to questions raised by legislator Sheikh Ahsan Ahmed Pardesi. The starred A.Q. No. 113 demanded clarification as to why the State Cancer Institute was set up without adequate medical, paramedical, and technical posts. The shortfalls, Pardesi has said, is leading to inconveniences for patients and compromising cancer care.

The Health and Medical Education Department has said the number of cancer cases is rising at 7.49%, and attributed the rise to “improved diagnostics”. “The rise cannot be interpreted as the actual rise in cancer cases,” the reply states. The department has said that epidemiological research is required to establish causality.

In the past three years, 2023-2025, 17296 people have been diagnosed with cancer. Of these, 10754 cases have been detected in Kashmir division and 6542 in Jammu division.

The Government has said the 100-bedded State Cancer Institute at Sher-i-Kashmir Institute of Medical Sciences (SKIMS), Soura, was established with central funding under the National Programme for Prevention and Control of Cancer, Diabetes, Cardiovascular Diseases and Stroke (NPCDCS). It received a sanctioned grant of Rs. 120 crore exclusively for infrastructure. Although it was commissioned on December 5, 2020, the development remains ongoing.

The Government has acknowledged that approximately 80% of the SCI Kashmir is currently functional through manpower deployed from the main SKIMS Soura hospital. It said that a proposal for dedicated staff, including doctors, nursing, paramedical, technical, and supportive roles is under active consideration by the government. “It will be modeled after the State Cancer Institute in Jammu,” the Government said.

In order to manage the growing patient load and reduce waiting times, the government has said it was actively expanding services. It has provided “substantial rise in PET scans at SKIMS, from 1,410 in 2024 to 2,250 in 2025” as evidence of the expansion.

It has also said that GMC Srinagar is providing comprehensive cancer treatments, including therapies, surgeries, and essential tests like MRI, CT, and USG. The administrative approval for procuring a new PET Scan machine for GMC Srinagar at an estimated cost of Rs. 16.00 crore through the Jammu and Kashmir Medical Supplies Corporation Limited (JKMSCL) has been applauded as a step to mitigate suffering of cancer patients.