Cuttack, May 30: The director of medical education and training (DMET) has indicted the SCB Medical College authorities for violating statutory government rules while filling up several non-teaching posts.

In his inquiry report, the DMET has found the college authorities to have fixed eligibility criteria without approval of the government or any higher authority and issued appointment orders.

The government had ordered an inquiry by the DMET following allegations of "administrative impropriety" and "illegal practice" in several appointments in the medical institution.

The inquiry was reportedly taken up following intervention of the Chief Minister's Office after receiving a complaint petition. Its focus was on appointment process adopted for recruitment of the Group D posts - laboratory attendant, dissection hall assistant, junior librarian, junior caretaker and so on.

The DMET's report said: "Although the post of laboratory attendant and dissection hall assistant belong to Group D, the qualification prescribed by the general administration department has not been taken into consideration. The dean has prescribed the qualification at his level."

The SCB dean and principal had invited applications to the Grade D posts, keeping Plus Two science with biology, when the general administration department had prescribed middle English (Class VII pass) as the uniform criteria of education qualification for such posts.

"The post of assistant librarian has not been filled up where as the post of junior librarian has been filled up by one Jayadev Nayak, a junior library clerk, by way of selection in violation of the existing rules of appointment. As the post of junior librarian is a base-level post, it should have been filled up by way of direct recruitment," the inquiry report observed.

The DMET submitted the report to the additional secretary (medical education) of the health and family welfare department recently.

"As regard to junior caretaker, the post has been filled up on promotional basis from among junior clerks - which is not according to the cadre rules. The post of junior caretaker should have been filled up by direct recruitment since it is a cadre post," the report observed.

The report further pointed out that the dean had taken decision on the eligibility criteria and floated advertisement for various posts such as junior clerk-cum-storekeeper, technical assistant, medical social worker, health educator, laboratory technician, EEG technician and ECG technician. "But, the eligibility criteria have not been approved by the government or any higher authority. However, as ascertained appointment orders have been issued for the posts," the inquiry report observed.

The applications were invited for the posts were invited by the SCBMCH authorities complaint petitions in December 2015.

The legal advisor to Karmajibi, a monthly Odia magazine, had submitted the complaint petition on July 15, 2016. Acting on it, the CMO had ordered for an enquiry in the same month.

Accordingly, the health department had issued a direction to the DMET "to inquire into the complaint on September 19, 2016". The probe was however not taken up, forcing the health department to issue the same direction for inquiry to the DMET again on February 4, 2017.