Senior state health officials on Saturday handed over engagement letters to 407 candidates for posts under the department of health and family welfare in Malda, but the event was marred by protests by unsuccessful applicants who alleged anomalies in the selection process.

The contractual appointments include health officers and other personnel under different programmes, including the National Health Mission (NHM) and the National Ayush Mission (NAM).

The engagement letter distribution ceremony was held at the Malda College auditorium.

However, before the event, some applicants gathered outside the venue and resorted to protests, alleging discrepancies in the preparation of the merit list.

Applicants like Shahanaz Parvin and Saberin Khatun alleged irregularities in the merit list for the post of community health officer (CHO) under the nursing category.

“We had applied for the CHO post under the reserved category. However, as our academic scores were high, we were called for interviews under the unreserved category. Now that our names are not in the final merit list, we should have been placed on the waiting list under our respective reserved category. Instead, our names appear on the unreserved waiting list. There are discrepancies in the merit list,” Khatun alleged.

At the event, engagement letters were distributed to 42 medical officers, 232 nursing staff, 43 technical personnel, two pharmacists, 14 managers, four counsellors, eight consultants, seven support staff and 11 multi-rehabilitation workers.

N.S. Nigam, the state health secretary, handed over the letters to the selected candidates.

Malda district magistrate Preeti Goyal, chief medical officer of health (CMOH) Sudipta Bhaduri and other district administrative and health officials were also present at the function.

According to district health department sources, 169 candidates were selected for the CHO post under NHM out of a total of 4,587 applicants.

Suvendu Adhikari, leader of the Opposition in the Assembly, slammed the drive, calling it the Trinamool government's “false advertisement”.

He claimed that the contractual appointments were made under the NHM and the NAM, both centrally sponsored schemes.

However, health department sources said that while the Centre funds 60 per cent of the expenditure for contractual employees under the NHM and the NAM, the state bears 40 per cent.

Nigam did not comment on the grievances raised by the candidates. However, DM Goyal said the selection process was conducted transparently and in accordance with norms.

“We are sorry for those who were not selected. However, the recruitment was carried out according to rules. The candidates may reapply when new vacancies are advertised,” Goyal said.

CMOH Bhaduri said the appointment of these community medical officers and health personnel would significantly improve healthcare services at both urban and rural health centres in the district.