Mukhyamantri Raut, Charavaaha Evam Doodh Duhane Vaale Saayakal Sahaayata Yojana

What is the Mukhyamantri bicycle assistance scheme for grazers and milkmen?

Mukhyamantri Raut, Charavaaha Evam Doodh Duhane Vaale Saayakal Sahaayata Yojana is a scheme of the Labour Department, Government of Chhattisgarh, delivered through the Chhattisgarh Unorganised Workers State Social Security Board. The scheme gives financial assistance of Rs 3,000 per person for a bicycle to registered unorganised workers who work as raut, as charavaaha; cattle grazers and herders, and as doodh duhane vaale, the men and women who milk cattle for a living.

According to the Chhattisgarh Labour Department listing, the scheme was started for unorganised workers on 10 September 2013, and its stated objective is to empower unorganised workers through financial assistance. The scheme is sometimes listed under the transliterated name Bicycle Sahaayata Yojana, and the words saayakal and bicycle are used interchangeably in the department's own material.

The logic of the scheme is specific to the work. A grazer or milkman covers long distances every day, moving between households, cattle sheds and grazing land, often before dawn. A bicycle converts hours of walking into minutes of riding and lets the same worker serve more households in a day. Rs 3,000 is a small amount in absolute terms and a large one relative to what these workers earn, which is why the scheme has stayed on the board's benefit list for more than a decade.

Key features

• Rs 3,000 per person as bicycle assistance.
• Capped at the bicycle rate fixed by CSIDC, the Chhattisgarh State Industrial Development Corporation; if that rate is lower than Rs 3,000.
• Applies to registered unorganised workers aged 18 to 60.
• Excludes workers already receiving a parallel State Government benefit.
• Filed online on the Chhattisgarh Labour Department portal.

Who is eligible for the bicycle assistance scheme?

You can claim if all of the following are true:

• You are registered as an unorganised worker in any district of Chhattisgarh, with the Chhattisgarh Unorganised Workers State Social Security Board.
• You are between 18 and 60 years old.
• You work as a raut, a cattle grazer or herder (charavaaha), or a person who milks cattle, and this is reflected in your registration.
• You are a resident of Chhattisgarh, with a permanent residence certificate.
• You are not receiving benefits from any other parallel scheme of the State Government for the same purpose.

You cannot apply, or will be found not eligible, if:

• You are not registered with the Chhattisgarh Unorganised Workers State Social Security Board. Registration is the gateway condition; there is no route in without it.
• You are under 18 or over 60.
• You are already receiving a benefit under a parallel State Government scheme. The Labour Department states plainly that such workers are not eligible, and a worker who has already been given a bicycle under another government programme cannot claim a second time here.
• Your registration has lapsed, or the trade recorded on it does not match the occupations the scheme covers.
• You are not a resident of Chhattisgarh.

How to apply for the bicycle assistance scheme

The application is online on the Chhattisgarh Labour Department portal. The route differs depending on whether you already hold a board registration.

If you are not yet a registered unorganised worker:

1. Open the official Chhattisgarh Labour Department website and, on the home page, click Apply under Chhattisgarh Unorganised Workers State Social Security Board.
2. Set Group Name to Asangathit Karmakar Mandal, Service to Asangathit Shramik Panjikaran, and What do you want to do to Aavedan, then click Next.
3. Read and confirm the eligibility conditions for registration with the board, then click Next.
4. Fill in the online registration form with your name, age, Aadhaar number, address and the nature of your work, and submit it.
5. Note down the registration number issued. Every scheme claim you make later is filed against that number.

If you are already a registered unorganised worker:

1. Open the Chhattisgarh Labour Department website and click Apply under Chhattisgarh Unorganised Workers State Social Security Board.
2. Set Group Name to Asangathit Karmakar Mandal, Service to Yojana, and What do you want to do to Aavedan, then click Next.
3. Select your district and enter your old or new registration number, then click Next.
4. Select this bicycle assistance scheme from the list of schemes available against your registration.
5. Fill in the required details, upload your documents — registration card, Aadhaar, permanent residence certificate and bank details, and submit the application.

The Chhattisgarh Labour Department also publishes an Android app for the labour portal, which carries the same registration and scheme application flow for workers who prefer a phone to a computer.

What documents are required?

Scan each document legibly before you begin the form. Illegible uploads are the usual cause of an application being returned for correction rather than sanctioned, and each return adds weeks.

How much assistance is given, and how is it capped?

The entitlement is Rs 3,000 per person, but with a ceiling: the department pays Rs 3,000 or the bicycle rate fixed by CSIDC, whichever is lower. In practice this means the assistance tracks the officially recognised cost of a standard bicycle and cannot exceed it. If CSIDC's fixed rate for a bicycle is below Rs 3,000 in a given year, the lower figure applies.

The benefit is a one-time assistance per eligible worker, not a recurring payment, and it is paid into the worker's own bank account rather than handed over in cash.

How do I check my application status?

1. Return to the Chhattisgarh Labour Department portal and open the Unorganised Workers State Social Security Board section.
2. Choose the option to view an existing application instead of filing a new one, and enter your district and registration number.
3. The dashboard tied to your registration lists the schemes you have applied for and the stage each application has reached.
4. If an application shows no movement for a long period, follow up at your district labour office with your registration card and the application reference.

Why applications get rejected, and how to avoid it

• Registration not valid at the time of application. The most common failure. Check that your board registration is live before you apply.
• A parallel State Government benefit already received. A worker who has already been given a bicycle or bicycle assistance under another state scheme is disqualified, and a duplicate sanction found later can be recovered.
• Age outside 18 to 60. The band matches the registration rules, so an age error on the registration itself has to be corrected first.
• Occupation on the registration does not match the scheme. The scheme is written for rauts, grazers and milkmen; a registration recording an unrelated trade will not draw this benefit.
• Name or Aadhaar mismatch between the registration card, Aadhaar and the bank account. Align all three before applying.
• Bank account dormant or not in the worker's own name. The transfer fails even after sanction.

Key dates and timelines

• The scheme is open all year; the Labour Department does not publish an annual last date for it.
• The scheme has run since its introduction for unorganised workers on 10 September 2013.
• Registration with the board should be completed before you attempt the scheme application, because the scheme form is only reachable through a valid registration number.

Grievance redressal and help

• First step; your district labour office under the Chhattisgarh Labour Department, which handles unorganised worker registrations and scheme claims locally.
• Portal level. The Chhattisgarh Labour Department portal at shramevjayate.cg.gov.in carries a Contact Us section with office details for the Labour Commissioner's organisation. The department's scheme listings also give cglabour.nic.in as the official scheme address.
• Board level. The Chhattisgarh Unorganised Workers State Social Security Board, which administers this scheme along with the board's other unorganised worker benefits.

Board registration and the scheme application are both free. No agent or middleman is entitled to charge a grazer, herder or milkman a fee for getting a registration card issued or a bicycle assistance claim sanctioned.