Maternity Benefit Scheme (ANBOCWWB), Andaman and Nicobar Islands

What is the ANBOCWWB Maternity Benefit Scheme?

Maternity Benefit Scheme is a cash welfare benefit of the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (ANBOCWWB), which functions under the Department of Labour, Employment and Training of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration. The Board was constituted in 2009 under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 and the related cess legislation of 1996, and it runs a set of welfare schemes funded by the construction cess collected in the islands.

According to the Board's scheme list published by the Department of Labour, Employment and Training, Maternity Benefit Scheme pays:

• Rs 20,000 to a woman worker who has been a registered beneficiary for a period of one year, payable during the period of maternity.
• Rs 10,000 to a male worker who has been a registered beneficiary for one year and whose wife is 19 years or more and is not herself a registered beneficiary.

Maternity Benefit Scheme is therefore not a general maternity entitlement for all women in the islands. Maternity Benefit Scheme is limited to the Board's own registered construction workers, and the second slab exists so that a construction worker's household is not left out simply because the woman of the house does not work on site.

The same Board runs a wider set of benefits from the same registration, which is worth knowing before you file anything: medical assistance at Rs 200 a day for the first five days and Rs 100 a day thereafter subject to a Rs 5,000 ceiling, death benefit of Rs 1,00,000 for natural death and Rs 2,00,000 where the death is work-related, funeral assistance of Rs 5,000, a pension of Rs 1,000 a month after 55 years of age with five years of continuous contribution, educational assistance of Rs 300 to Rs 2,000 a month depending on the class, marriage assistance of Rs 20,000, disability assistance of up to 25 per cent of the compensation payable under the Employees Compensation Act 1923, and skill development tool kits worth up to Rs 10,000.

Who is eligible for the ANBOCWWB maternity benefit?

You can claim if:

• You are a construction worker in the Andaman and Nicobar Islands: labourer, mason, welder, carpenter, bar bender, driver, helper and similar trades all qualify, including work under MGNREGA.
• You are registered as a beneficiary with ANBOCWWB and hold a valid board identity card.
• Your registration has been active for at least one year before the maternity.
• Your subscription to the Board is paid up to date.
• You are a woman worker claiming Rs 20,000 for your own maternity, or a male worker claiming Rs 10,000 where your wife is 19 years or older and is not a registered beneficiary.

You are not eligible if:

• You are not registered with the Board. Registration is the gateway to every ANBOCWWB benefit and cannot be done retrospectively for a maternity that has already occurred.
• Your registration is less than one year old on the date of the maternity.
• Your subscription is in arrears. The Department publishes lists of beneficiaries with outstanding subscription precisely because this blocks claims.
• You are a male worker whose wife is herself a registered beneficiary; in that case she claims the Rs 20,000 and the household cannot claim twice.
• You are a male worker whose wife is under 19 years of age.
• You work outside the building and construction sector, or you are an employer or contractor rather than a worker.

Registration itself, under the BOCW Act framework the Board operates within, is open to construction workers between 18 and 60 years of age who have worked in building or other construction work, and it is done on an application form with supporting documents and a nominal registration fee at the labour office. The Board reported more than 15,000 registered workers in the islands and holds periodic registration drives across the island groups.

What documents are required for the maternity benefit claim?

How to apply for the ANBOCWWB maternity benefit

1. Confirm your registration is valid and one year old. Check the date on your ANBOCWWB identity card and clear any pending subscription at the labour office before doing anything else, because arrears stall the claim.
2. Collect the delivery documents. The hospital's medical certificate confirming the delivery and its date, and the child's birth certificate from the registrar of births and deaths.
3. Obtain the maternity benefit claim form from the Andaman and Nicobar Islands Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board at the Office of the Labour Commissioner, Supply Line, Port Blair, or from the labour office covering your island.
4. Fill the form with your board registration number, name exactly as on the identity card, the date of delivery, and your bank account number and IFSC. A male worker additionally fills the wife's details and attaches her age proof and a declaration that she is not a registered beneficiary.
5. Attach self-attested copies of the identity card, birth certificate, medical certificate, Aadhaar card, bank passbook and subscription receipt.
6. Submit the complete claim at the Board's office and collect the acknowledgement. Keep the receipt number; it is what you quote when you follow up.
7. Wait for the Board meeting sanction. Claims are placed before the Board and approved in its periodic meetings; the Department then releases payment by Direct Benefit Transfer.

How do I check whether my claim has been sanctioned?

The Board's approvals are made in numbered board meetings, and the Department of Labour, Employment and Training publishes on labour.and.nic.in the lists of beneficiaries released with financial assistance as approved at each meeting. That published list is the most reliable public check on whether your case has gone through.

1. Open labour.and.nic.in and look for the beneficiary lists linked from the home page, including the list of releases approved at the most recent board meeting.
2. Check the two related lists the Department also publishes — beneficiaries whose Aadhaar is not linked with bank accounts, and beneficiaries with outstanding subscription payments. Appearing on either list is a reason your money has not moved.
3. If your name is on the sanctioned list but nothing has been credited, take your passbook to your bank branch and confirm the account is active and Aadhaar-seeded.
4. If nothing shows after the next board meeting, follow up in writing at the Office of the Labour Commissioner quoting your registration number and the acknowledgement receipt.

Why ANBOCWWB maternity claims get rejected or held up

• Registration less than one year old on the date of the maternity, the condition is written into the scheme and is not relaxed.
• Subscription arrears. The Board maintains a defaulters list, and a claim from a defaulting member waits until dues are cleared.
• Aadhaar not linked to the bank account, so the DBT release fails. The Department publishes a separate list of such beneficiaries for this reason.
• Missing medical certificate or birth certificate. A claim filed on the identity card alone is incomplete.
• Duplicate household claim, where a male worker claims Rs 10,000 although his wife is herself registered and eligible for Rs 20,000.
• Name mismatch between the board identity card, Aadhaar and the bank account.

Each of these is curable. Clear arrears at the labour office, get the bank to complete Aadhaar seeding, obtain the missing certificate, and resubmit with the original acknowledgement attached rather than starting a fresh claim.

Where do I complain about a delayed maternity benefit?

• Office of the Labour Commissioner, Supply Line, Port Blair: phone +91 3192 233138, email lcdet[at]and[dot]nic[dot]in. This is the office that houses the Welfare Board's secretariat.
• The Welfare Board itself, in writing, quoting your registration number and the date of your claim, ahead of the next board meeting.
• Public grievance channels of the Andaman and Nicobar Administration, if a written reminder to the Labour Commissioner produces no response.

Registration with ANBOCWWB and claiming its benefits involve only the small official fees and the board subscription, both paid at the labour office against a receipt. No agent or contractor should be paid to "get your claim passed".