Vivah Sahayata Yojana (Jharkhand Construction Workers Marriage Assistance)

What is Vivah Sahayata Yojana?

Vivah Sahayata Yojana, in Hindi विवाह सहायता योजना, is the marriage assistance scheme of the Jharkhand Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, which functions under the Department of Labour, Employment, Training and Skill Development, Government of Jharkhand.

According to the Board's scheme details page on the Shramadhan portal, the condition and the benefit are stated together: where a registered beneficiary has contributed continuously for three years, assistance of Rs 30,000 (thirty thousand rupees) is payable for the marriage of two children, or of a woman member.

The scheme exists for a plain reason. A wedding is the single largest cash outlay most construction-worker families ever face, and it is the usual point at which a family that has been managing takes on debt from a private lender at crushing interest. Rs 30,000 does not pay for a wedding, but it covers a meaningful part of the fixed costs, and it arrives as a bank transfer rather than a loan.

Vivah Sahayata Yojana is funded from the welfare cess collected on construction cost under the Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Cess Act, 1996. Employers pay that cess on their project value through the Shramadhan portal, and the Board spends it on member welfare. The money is therefore not a charity: it is the workers' own statutory fund.

Who is eligible for marriage assistance?

You can claim if:

• You are registered with the Jharkhand Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board and your registration is live on the date of the marriage.
• You have contributed to the Board continuously for three years. This is the condition the Board states explicitly for this scheme, and it is the one most claims fail on.
• The marriage is of your child, and it is the first or second such claim for your family.
• Or you are a registered woman member claiming for your own marriage.
• The person marrying is of legal marriage age, which the age proof must establish.

You are not eligible and cannot apply if:

• You are not registered with the Board. Registration after the wedding cannot create a claim for a marriage that has already happened.
• Your contribution record has a break in it, or runs for less than three continuous years. A lapsed year resets the clock.
• You have already claimed for two children. The scheme caps the family at two marriages.
• You are a contractor, employer or site supervisor rather than a building worker as defined by the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996.
• The marriage is of a person below the legal minimum age, which no government scheme can be used to fund.

Board registration itself requires the worker to be 18 to 60 years old and to have done building or other construction work for at least 90 days in the preceding twelve months. Trades covered include mason, carpenter, electrician, painter and coolie, among the many listed by the Board.

Why the three-year contribution rule matters most

Of all the conditions the Board publishes for this scheme, the three years of continuous contribution is the one that decides the outcome. Workers often register, pay for one year, then let the membership lapse while they are away on a site in another state, and pay again two years later. On paper that is three payments; under the rule it is not three continuous years.

The practical protection is to use the BOC Worker Re-contribution service on the Shramadhan portal. It appears under the Services menu with a "Search and Apply for Re-Contribution" option, the moment a gap appears, and to keep every contribution receipt. A family planning a wedding two years ahead should check the contribution history now, not in the week of the marriage.

What documents are required?

How to apply for Vivah Sahayata Yojana

1. Open the Shramadhan portal at shramadhan.jharkhand.gov.in, the Comprehensive Labour Management System of the Jharkhand Labour Department, and use the worker services login.
2. Log in with the registered mobile number and the OTP sent to it, or with the registration number issued by the Board.
3. Before filing, open the contribution history and confirm that three continuous years are recorded. If a year is missing, use BOC Worker Re-contribution first.
4. Open the scheme benefit application for construction workers and select Vivah Sahayata Yojana.
5. Enter the name of the person marrying, the relationship to the worker, and the date of marriage, and state whether this is the first or second claim.
6. Upload the marriage proof, age proof, relationship proof, Board card, Aadhaar and bank passbook.
7. Submit the form and save the application number shown on the acknowledgement screen.
8. Take the original documents to the district Labour Office when the verifying officer calls for them.

How to apply offline

1. Visit the district Labour Office or the nearest Pragya Kendra (Common Service Centre) with your Board registration card.
2. Ask for the construction worker scheme benefit form and complete the marriage assistance section.
3. Attach the marriage proof, age proof, relationship proof, contribution receipts, Aadhaar and bank passbook.
4. Submit the form and collect a dated receipt carrying the application number.

Filing before or immediately after the wedding is sensible. The district Labour Office needs to verify that the marriage actually took place, and evidence is easier to produce while it is fresh.

How to check the status of a claim

1. Log in to shramadhan.jharkhand.gov.in and open the application status view with the application number from your acknowledgement.
2. If you filed offline, ask the district Labour Office to trace the file by application number and date.
3. After sanction, the Rs 30,000 is credited to the worker's own bank account, so check the passbook as well as the portal.

Why marriage assistance claims get rejected

• Contribution short of three continuous years, by far the commonest reason.
• Registration lapsed on the date of the marriage.
• A third claim in a family that has already drawn for two children.
• No acceptable marriage proof, or a claim filed long after the wedding when no record can be produced.
• Age proof showing the person married below the legal age, which makes the claim inadmissible.
• Name mismatch between the Board card, Aadhaar and bank passbook.
• Inactive bank account, so the transfer fails after sanction.

A rejected claim can be filed again once the specific defect is cured. Ask the district Labour Office to record the reason for rejection in writing so you know exactly what to fix.

Other Board schemes worth claiming alongside

• Matritva Prasuvidha Yojana: Rs 15,000 for the first two deliveries of a registered woman member.
• Medhavi Putra/Putri Chhatravritti Yojana, scholarships of Rs 5,000 for classes 1 to 8, Rs 10,000 for classes 9 to 12 and inter-level courses, Rs 20,000 for graduate and postgraduate courses including diplomas, and Rs 50,000 for engineering and medical courses.
• Saikil Sahayata Yojana — a bicycle for members of at least one year who have paid the next year's contribution and have not taken the sewing machine benefit.
• Shramik Aujar Sahayata Yojana, a trade tool kit for registered workers above 18, available three months after registration.

Each is a separate application on its own form. Filing the marriage claim does not trigger any of the others automatically.

Help and grievance redressal

• Labour Commissioner, Jharkhand: toll-free 1800 3456 526, Shram Bhawan, Doranda, Ranchi.
• Shramadhan technical helpdesk, 7632996057, Monday to Friday, 10 AM to 6 PM.
• Department of Labour, Employment, Training and Skill Development; Nepal House, Doranda, Ranchi 834002, phone (0651) 2490514 and (0651) 2490956.
• Grievance module on the Shramadhan portal, which issues a tracking number.

Claiming Vivah Sahayata Yojana is free at every stage, and the full Rs 30,000 reaches the worker's account.