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Concealing the information of a cancer patient will have to go to jail; The disease was declared a ‘Notified Disease’

Samira Vishwas | July 18, 2026 3:24 PM CST

Notification issued by the State Government under the ‘Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897’; Negligence will be fined and punished Rules are also mandatory for small clinics, labs, NGOs and insurance companies; Health department will make digital portal 70 deaths from cancer daily in Punjab; Cancer belt of Malwa most affected, data of patients will be kept complete (…)

Notification issued by the State Government under the ‘Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897’; There will be fine and punishment for negligence

Regulations are also mandatory for small clinics, labs, NGOs and insurance companies; Health department will create digital portal

70 deaths from cancer daily in Punjab; Malwa’s cancer belt most affected, patient data will be kept completely confidential

Chandigarh:

In view of the ever-increasing dangerous cases of cancer in Punjab, the state government has taken a historic and drastic step. The government ‘Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897’ (Epidemic Diseases Act, 1897) to cancer Notifiable Disease has announced This means that now, if cancer is confirmed in any government or private medical institution in Punjab, it will be legally mandatory to report it to the health department. No organization will be able to hide patient information from the government.

Strict legal action on violation of rules

As per the notification issued by the Department of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab, these orders have been implemented with immediate effect:

Punishment under section-3 will be: If a hospital, laboratory or clinic conceals a report of a cancer case or violates the rules, strict legal action will be taken against it under Section-3 of the Epidemic Diseases Act, which provides for both fine and imprisonment.

Every small clinic, lab and insurance company covered

This new law is not limited to large government or private hospitals (like PGI, AIIMS, Homi Bhaba Cancer Centre, Railways or ESI Hospitals) but will apply to all the following institutions:

All small private clinics and nursing homes.
AYUSH Hospital.
All pathology and radiology labs.
Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs) maintaining patient records.
All medical insurance companies involved in cancer claims.

How will this law be implemented at the grassroots level?

The government has prepared a comprehensive framework to make this system transparent and hi-tech:

Registration on Digital Portal is mandatory: The Health Department is developing a special and modern online portal for this. All medical institutions (hospitals, labs, imaging centers) of Punjab will have to register on this portal and enter complete data of cancer patients online in the prescribed format.
Data will be completely confidential (100% Confidential): The government has assured the patients that their privacy and identity will be kept completely confidential. All organizations will be required to comply with data protection regulations. This data will be analyzed and shared with the ICMR (Indian Council of Medical Research) and the Government of India as a ‘State Cancer Registry’ to formulate better policies for disease control.
The Civil Surgeon will supervise: The Civil Surgeon of each district will ensure that all the centers in their area are registered on the portal and reporting every month. At the state level, ‘Directorate of Health and Family Welfare, Punjab’ has been made the main nodal agency.

Alarming statistics of cancer in Punjab

Presented in the Rajya Sabha on 10 March 2026 by the Union Ministry of Health National Cancer Registry Program According to the official report of the Punjab, the situation is very serious:

Annual New Patients: Every year in Punjab approx 43,196 New cancer patients are emerging.
Annual Deaths: Every year approx 24,886 People die due to this terrible disease.
Daily Average: Every day in Punjab on average 68 to 70 Patients are dying of cancer.
Most Affected Districts: Bathinda (cancer belt of Malwa region), Amritsar, Ludhiana and Sangrur are the most affected by this disease.
Main reasons: Pollution of heavy metals in land and drinking water and excessive use of pesticides in agriculture are believed to be the main causes.

Financial assistance from the government

To deal with this challenge, the Punjab government is giving the benefit of two major schemes to the patients:

Chief Minister Punjab Cancer Relief Fund: For the treatment of cancer patients under this scheme 1.5 lakh rupees Financial assistance up to
Chief Minister Health Insurance Scheme: Patients under this 10 lakh rupees Cashless (free) treatment is being provided up to This facility is available in reputed institutes like Homi Bhaba Cancer Hospital (Mohali and Sangrur), AIIMS Bathinda and PGI Chandigarh.