Cuttack: Two days after imposing an interim stay on recruitment of Multipurpose Health Workers (MPHWs), the Orissa High Court Wednesday vacated the stay, paving way for distribution of appointment letters to as many as 2,753 MPHWs at a job fair in Capital city February 7. The HC had February 3 directed the Odisha Sub-ordinate Staff Selection Commission (OSSSC) to put on hold appointment of MPHWs after several candidates filed petitions challenging the recruitment process.
Notably, the OSSSC had released a notification April 29, 2023 seeking applications for recruitment of 2,753 female health workers. It conducted tests and declared the results in September 2024. However, some candidates had moved the HC alleging that there was negative marking for wrong answers for 100 marks but 13 answers were “wrong” while there was no clarity over answers of eight questions. The HC then imposed a stay on the recruitment. However, the HC Wednesday withdrew the stay order paving way for the state government to distribute appointment letters to the selected candidates.
The Nijukti Mela (job fair) will be organised at the Capital High School Play Ground February 7 when Chief Minister Mohan Charan Majhi will distribute appointment letters to the new recruits at 3:30pm, said Director of Family Welfare Sanjukta Sahoo. It is to be noted here that the Chief Minister had recently announced to fill 1.1 lakh vacant government posts and directed the chairpersons of OSSSC, Odisha Public Service Commission (OPSC) and Odisha Staff Selection Commission (OSSC) to expedite the recruitment process for the same.