The ambitious plan of the BMC to address the acute shortage of doctors at 18 peripheral hospitals has fallen flat on its face. Of 217 vacancies for Special Medical Consultants (SMCs), a post with Rs 75,000 as monthly honorarium, only 84 have been filled.

The information, revealed a response to an RTI query accessed by SUNDAY mid-day, shows that important departments such as pediatrics, gynecology and obstetrics, surgery and anesthesia, have barely managed to fill the vacancies. Medicine, one of the most important departments, given the alarming outbreak of swine flu and dengue in 2015, has managed to fill only two out of 53 slots. Despite the permission to pursue private practice after working hours, candidates refuse to take up the post.