“The hubs will be set up in Birbhum’s Dubrajpur and Nadia’s Dhubulia areas. Both will be constructed on a private-public partnership model. The project is expected to cost around Rs 300 crore,” said Banerjee at a conference of the Association of the Chest Physicians. The last date for submission of proposal is March 12, he added.

On the AIIMS-like institute to come up in Raiganj, Banerjee said: “The institute, which will come up on 100 acres, will have units like oncology, ophthalmology, cardiology and neurology under one roof. Moreover, it will also have scope for undergraduate, postgraduate and postdoctoral studies.”

State Minister for Health, Surjya Kanta Mishra, said: “When the Centre decided to set up six more institutes like the AIIMS, I asked them why not set up one in Bengal. We can provide them with all the help they need from land to infrastructure.”

Bannerjee said there are plans of expanding the number of seats in dental colleges across the state and also upgrading the Calcutta Medical College and Hospital by 2011.