Prime Minister Manmohan Singh will Dec 30 lay the foundation stone of a Rs. 450-crore cancer hospital being set up in Punjab, Chief Minister Parkash Singh Badal said Sunday.

 

 The Cancer Hospital and Research Centre, to be developed and established by Bhaba Atomic Research Centre (BARC) on the lines of Tata Memorial Hospital in Mumbai, is coming up at Mullanpur near Chandigarh.

 

 Badal was speaking after inspecting preparations being made for the event.

 

 Punjab has seen an increase in the number of cancer cases, especially in the Malwa belt in southwestern part of the state in recent years. Agriculture and environment experts have linked the rise in cancer cases to the excessive use of pesticides and insecticides in farming.

 

 The worst affected districts are Bathinda, Mansa, Muktsar and Sangrur.

 

 The Punjab government has given 50 acres of prime land in Mullanpur, 10 km from here, free of cost for the hospital.

 

 Badal said that the prime minister had personally intervened to sanction the cancer hospital project.