The Cooch Behar Regional Cancer Centre is finally set to undergo modernisation after a nearly three-and-a-half-year delay.

Following a change in leadership at the Trinamool Congress-run Cooch Behar municipality in January, the civic board has decided to grant a no-objection certificate (NOC) to Karkinos Healthcare Private Limited — a Mumbai-based private firm — for upgrading the facility.

The work is scheduled to begin on March 8, International Women’s Day.

A joint meeting was held last week at the circuit house here by representatives of the trust that runs Cancer Centre, the local civic body and Karkinos Healthcare.

Akhter Jawed, a doctor associated with the healthcare firm, Sripriya Rao, the firm's chief growth officer, and Dilip Saha, the new civic chairman of Cooch Behar, had outlined the roadmap for the centre’s development at a media conference.

Saha said that while a trust manages the cancer centre, the land belongs to the municipality.

“We have formally issued the NOC to Karkinos Healthcare that will make necessary investments for infrastructure modernisation, renovation and the introduction of advanced cancer treatment services,” he said.

“Treatment at the upgraded centre will also be available under the state government’s Swasthya Sathi scheme,” he added.

Representatives of the healthcare company said they aim to provide advanced cancer treatment at an affordable cost and make quality oncology services accessible to all.

Udayan Guha, the north Bengal development minister, and secretary of the cancer centre trust, had initiated steps to partner with the private firm in 2022. Representatives of the company had visited Cooch Behar and inspected the facility.

However, the then municipal chairman, Rabindranath Ghosh, refused to issue the NOC, citing objections related to land ownership. He had argued that handing over municipal land to a private agency would be against regulations. The issue sparked a political debate and the project remained stalled.

Following the change in leadership, the decision to grant the NOC was finalised during the first board meeting on January 29.

The centre was established in 1989 near Shalbagan, on the initiative of former state agriculture minister Kamal Guha, Udayan Guha’s father. Actor Mithun Chakraborty had visited Cooch Behar to support the fundraising.

“It was known as the Cooch Behar Regional Cancer Centre. But in recognition of Kamal Guha’s contribution, the centre will now be renamed as Kamal Guha Memorial Regional Cancer Centre,” said Udayan.