Kolkata, Sept. 23 -- The state cabinet on Wednesday approved a major recruitment drive to fill 1.5 lakh vacant posts across state government departments, with appointments to be completed during the

current financial year, according to sources.

The decision includes 12,000 vacancies in the state police and 5,000 in Kolkata Police. The sanctioned strength of the state police is around 1.25 lakh, while Kolkata Police has a sanctioned strength of 35,000. However, there are over 40,000 vacancies across the two forces, a senior official said.

The cabinet also approved construction of a new jail at Nimtouri in East Midnapore and discussed preparations for Mahalaya observances in seven districts - Siliguri, Durgapur, Malda, Digha, Nandigram, Berhampur and Bishnupur. Arrangements for the ceremonies and administrative coordination were discussed.

Separately, the cabinet discussed arrangements for introducing yoga-related activities at the Mahakal temple, with officials examining the modalities for organising the programme.

The cabinet also decided to close 250 more madrasas for flouting norms despite being warned. Earlier this month, 252 unapproved madrasas were closed by the state government for not following norms. Another 100 madrasas were issued show-cause notices and asked to comply with norms and follow guidelines.

An official said the state had kept 2,500 madrasas under scrutiny as they were not functioning in accordance with state guidelines. The government found that many had almost no students and lacked infrastructure. Such madrasas had therefore been asked not to admit any further students. The recruitment decision is expected to strengthen the state's administrative and law-and-order machinery.

The CM during the cabinet meeting on Wednesday advised Health Minister Dr Shardwat Mukherjee and Urban Development and Municipal Affairs Minister Agnimitra Paul to spend more time in office instead of making raids in different places. Mukherjee was asked to hold meetings with doctors and departmental officials, sources said.

Published by HT Digital Content Services with permission from Millennium Post.