Grant for Purchase of Tools and Protective Gear (Dadra and Nagar Haveli and Daman and Diu)

What is the Grant for Purchase of Tools and Protective Gear?

The Grant for Purchase of Tools and Protective Gear 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 from its office at Silvassa. The Board lists it as Form III in the welfare-scheme series that runs from Form II to Form XI.

According to the Board's scheme page, an application in the prescribed Form III goes to the Member Secretary (BOCWWB), and the Board may sanction the grant for purchase of tools for an amount not exceeding Rs 10,000, once in three years, to those who have completed six months of the membership. Both parts of that sentence matter: the ceiling is Rs 10,000, and the frequency is once in three years.

The purpose is straightforward. A mason, carpenter, bar-bender, plumber or electrician on a construction site usually has to supply his own hand tools, and safety items; helmets, boots, gloves, harnesses, goggles, are a real cost on a daily wage. The BOCW Act, 1996 was framed precisely because building workers are among the most vulnerable segments of unorganised labour in India, with temporary work, uncertain hours and inherent risk to life and limb. This grant is one of the Board's answers to that.

Who is eligible for the tools grant?

You can claim if:

• You are registered as a beneficiary of the BOCW Welfare Fund in Dadra and Nagar Haveli, Daman or Diu.
• You have completed six months of membership with the Board.
• You are aged between 18 and 60, the statutory registration band, and had worked in building or other construction work for not less than 90 days in the preceding 12 months at the time of registration.
• You have not drawn this grant in the last three years.
• You can produce an invoice or quotation for the tools or protective gear you intend to buy.

You cannot apply if:

• You are not registered with the Board. There is no route to the grant for an unregistered worker.
• Your membership is less than six months old.
• You received the grant within the previous three years.
• Your membership has lapsed for non-payment of subscription and has not been revived; Form III captures the dates of first and last subscription precisely so the office can check this.
• 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 welfare schemes framed under the BOCW (RE and CS) Act, 1996.

What documents does Form III require?

Form III also asks for your marital status, monthly income, mobile number and both your temporary and permanent address, so carry an address proof.

How to apply for the tools and protective gear grant

1. Get a written quotation or invoice from the dealer for the tools or protective gear you want to buy. Note the description, make, model and cost of each item, and the dealer's name and address — Form III has a field for each of these.
2. Collect Form III from your district labour office, or open the "Grant Purchase of Tools" page on bocwddd.in, which reproduces the form fields and provides an online submission form.
3. Enter your BOCW registration details. Select the location of BOCW registration; DNH, Daman or Diu, and enter your registration number. The portal has a search button that pulls up the registration record.
4. Complete the personal, membership and bank sections, including the number of years of membership, the dates of your first and last subscription, and the amount of grant applied for, which cannot exceed Rs 10,000.
5. Submit the completed Form III to the Member Secretary (BOCWWB) through your district labour office, and keep the acknowledgement.
6. Retain the original bill after purchase. The office may call for it before releasing the sanctioned amount to your bank account.

How to register with the Board first

1. Confirm you are aged 18 to 60 and have been engaged in building or other construction work for not less than 90 days in the preceding twelve months.
2. Apply in the prescribed registration form to the officer authorised by the Board for your district, with the prescribed documents.
3. Pay the registration fee, which under the Act is not more than Rs 50.
4. Keep the subscription current, and wait until six months of membership are complete before filing Form III.

How to check the status of your claim

There is no public online tracker for BOCW claims on bocwddd.in. Track your application by contacting the district labour office where you filed Form III, quoting your BOCW registration number, the date of submission and the file number the office gave you. The Silvassa, Daman and Diu offices each maintain their own registers of applications received under the welfare schemes.

Why tools grant applications get rejected

• Membership under six months. The eligibility bar is checked first, and it is the most common early rejection.
• A repeat claim inside three years. The once-in-three-years rule is applied strictly against the date of the previous sanction.
• No invoice or a vague invoice. An invoice that does not name the item, make and model, or that does not carry the dealer's address, cannot be verified.
• Amount claimed above Rs 10,000. The Board can sanction up to Rs 10,000 and no more; the balance stays with the worker.
• Lapsed membership. If subscription has stopped, the claim waits until membership is revived.
• Wrong bank details. A mismatch in IFSC or account name holds up the transfer after sanction.

How the tools grant fits the Board's other schemes

The tools grant is the smallest of the Board's welfare schemes, and it is best understood as one item in a series a registered worker can draw on over a working life. The Board's welfare-scheme page for Dadra and Nagar Haveli lists ten schemes, from Form II to Form XI: maternity benefit (Form II), this tools grant (Form III), construction of a residential house (Form IV), ex-gratia for disability (Form V), medical assistance and wage loss (Form VI), financial assistance for education (Form VII), marriage assistance (Form VIII), pension (Form IX), funeral assistance (Form X) and ex-gratia for death (Form XI). Daman and Diu additionally list skill development and financial assistance for surgery. A single registration opens all of them, which is why the Rs 50 registration fee is the most valuable Rs 50 a construction worker in the union territory can spend.

The protective-gear half of this scheme also connects to the purpose of the parent statute. The BOCW Act, 1996 exists to regulate the conditions of service and employment of building workers and to provide for their safety, health and welfare, and it applies to every establishment that employed ten or more building workers on any day of the preceding twelve months. Employers carry their own safety obligations under the Act; this grant is the Board's parallel route, which helps the self-employed mason or the worker on a smaller site who has no employer supplying a helmet or safety harness.

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 a Right to Information page for written grievances. Filing Form III costs nothing, and no dealer or agent is authorised to charge a commission for arranging a sanction.