Ex-Gratia for Permanent Disability and Chronic Diseases for Construction Workers (Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu)

What is the ex-gratia for disability for construction workers?

The Ex-Gratia for Permanent Disability and Chronic Diseases is a welfare scheme of the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board of Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu, administered by the Labour and Employment Department of the UT Administration. The Board lists it as Form V and titles the page "Ex-Gratia for Permanent Disability / Chronic Diseases".

According to the Board's scheme page, an application in the prescribed Form V along with supporting documents is made by a member of the fund to the Member Secretary (BOCWWB), and the Board may sanction an amount under any of three heads. The BOCW Act, 1996 was enacted because risk to life and limb is inherent in construction work and because the relationship between employer and worker is temporary, leaving injured workers with no fallback. This scheme is the Board's direct answer to permanent injury.

How much does the scheme pay?

Two points deserve emphasis. First, the Rs 1,00,000 disability payment is made for 100% permanent disability for any reason, the scheme page does not restrict it to accidents at the workplace. Second, the chronic disease head is a reimbursement capped per year, not a lump sum, and it extends to the dependants of the registered worker, not only the worker.

Who is eligible for the disability ex-gratia?

You can claim if:

• You are registered as a beneficiary of the BOCW Welfare Fund in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman or Diu, and your subscription is current.
• You were aged between 18 and 60 and had worked in building or other construction work for not less than 90 days in the preceding 12 months when you registered.
• You have suffered 100% permanent disability, or you or a dependant has been treated as an indoor patient for a chronic disease, or you have undergone a surgery or operation that is not maternity-related.
• You hold a medical certificate and, for a disability claim, a certificate of the cause of disability.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not a registered beneficiary of the Board.
• Your disability assessment is below the 100% threshold for the lump-sum disability head: though treatment costs may still be claimable under the chronic disease head or under the separate Form VI medical assistance scheme.
• You are claiming for a maternity-related operation, which is expressly excluded from the Rs 40,000 surgery head and is instead covered by the Form II maternity benefit.
• You are availing benefits under the ESIC Act, 1948 or the EPF and MP Act, 1952. The Board has clarified that such workers are not entitled to receive similar benefits admissible under the BOCW welfare schemes.
• Your membership has lapsed for non-payment of subscription and has not been revived.

What documents are needed?

The scheme page lists two uploads explicitly; (a) medical certificate and (b) certificate of cause for disability. Form V additionally captures:

• Name and address of the applicant, and, where a dependant files, the name of the dependant and relationship with the beneficiary; grandfather, grandmother, father, mother, son, daughter, brother, sister or other.
• Name, date of birth, age, gender and marital status of the beneficiary.
• Mobile number, Aadhaar number, temporary and permanent addresses.
• Loss of earning capacity.
• Date and amount of first and last subscription.
• Whether treatment was taken in a government or private facility, the period of treatment as a patient, the name of the hospital, the name of the doctor and the hospital contact number.
• Details of benefits availed from the Board earlier, and details of benefits received from the government or any other institution for the same treatment.
• Bank account number, bank name, branch and IFSC code.

Keep original bills for any reimbursement claim. The Board's parallel medical scheme reimburses on production of original bills, and the same standard is applied in practice to the chronic disease head.

How to apply for the disability ex-gratia

1. Get the medical documentation in order first. Obtain a medical certificate recording the diagnosis and the extent of disability, and a separate certificate stating the cause of the disability. For a chronic disease claim, collect the indoor-patient records and original hospital bills.
2. Collect Form V from your district labour office, or open the "Ex-Gratia for Permanent Disability" page on bocwddd.in, which reproduces the form fields and offers an online submission form.
3. Enter your BOCW registration details — select the district of registration (DNH, Daman or Diu) and enter your registration number.
4. Complete the treatment and subscription sections, including loss of earning capacity, whether treatment was government or private, hospital and doctor details, and any benefit already received from the Board or another institution for the same treatment. Declaring an earlier benefit honestly matters, a concealed double claim is the surest way to have the file rejected.
5. Attach the medical certificate and the certificate of cause for disability, plus original bills where reimbursement is claimed, and submit Form V to the Member Secretary (BOCWWB) through your district labour office.
6. Keep the acknowledgement and follow up with the office for the sanction and the bank credit.

If the worker is himself unable to apply, a dependant may file on his behalf: Form V is built for that, with fields for the applicant's name, the dependant's name and the relationship with the beneficiary.

How to register with the Board

1. Confirm you are aged 18 to 60 and have worked in building or other construction work for not less than 90 days in the preceding twelve months.
2. Apply in the prescribed form to the officer authorised by the Board for your district, with the prescribed documents.
3. Pay the registration fee of not more than Rs 50.
4. Keep paying the subscription so that cover is live when an accident happens, this is the one scheme where a lapsed membership is most costly.

How to check your claim status

The Board does not run a public online tracker for welfare claims. Contact the district labour office where you filed Form V, quoting your BOCW registration number, the date of submission and the file number allotted. Disability files usually involve a verification of the medical certificate, so expect the office to ask for the treating hospital's contact details, which is why Form V collects them.

Why disability ex-gratia claims get rejected

• Disability assessed below 100% for the lump-sum head.
• No certificate of the cause of disability, which is a separate document from the medical certificate and is frequently missed.
• Maternity-related operation claimed under the Rs 40,000 surgery head, which excludes it.
• Chronic disease claim above the Rs 1 lakh annual ceiling, or without original bills.
• Double claim; benefit already received from the Board or another institution for the same treatment.
• Lapsed membership or subscription arrears.
• Overlap with ESIC or EPF benefits, which the Board has expressly excluded.

Where to get help

• Dadra and Nagar Haveli: BOCW Welfare Board, Old Circuit House Building, opposite Bal Bhawan, Silvassa 396230. Phone 0260-2642374, email labour-dnh@nic.in
• Daman: Vidhyut Bhavan, Kachigam, Daman 396215. Phone 0260-2261059, email lelidaman@gmail.com
• Diu: Labour and Employment Office, Collectorate, Diu 362520. Phone 02875-252444

The Board's website carries a feedback form and an RTI page for written grievances. No fee is charged for filing Form V.