Bengaluru: The State Cabinet on Wednesday decided to formulate special recruitment rules for directly recruiting specialists, MBBS doctors, AYUSH doctors, paramedical staff and nurses to fill the large number of vacancies in government hospitals.

At a Cabinet meeting, presided over by Chief Minister Siddaramaiah, the Health and Family Welfare Department’s proposal to fill over 12,000 vacancies, from the level of primary health centres to State hospitals, was cleared.

Law and Parliamentary Affairs Minister T.B. Jayachandra said 1,285 of the sanctioned 3,435 specialist posts are vacant, while there are 684 vacancies in the sanctioned 2,586 posts of MBBS doctors. As many as 8,137 paramedical staff posts, 1,753 nurse posts and 176 AYUSH doctor posts are vacant in various hospitals.

Steel flyover scrapped

The Cabinet formally scrapped the steel flyover project in Bengaluru. Following allegations of corruption and a sustained campaign by the Opposition and citizens’ groups, the controversial Rs. 1,791-crore project was shelved. The 6.7-km, six-lane project from the busy Basaveshwara Circle to Hebbal Junction in Bengaluru had been cleared by the Cabinet in September 2016. The BJP then alleged that Mr. Siddaramaiah and his family had received kickbacks of Rs. 65 crore for the project.