Funeral Assistance for Registered Construction Workers (Maharashtra)

What is the construction workers' funeral assistance in Maharashtra?

Funeral Assistance is a welfare benefit paid by the Maharashtra Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (MBOCWW), which works under the state Labour Department and is funded by the cess collected on construction projects under the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, 1996. The board pays Rs 10,000 towards the last rites of a registered construction worker who has died, so that the family is not forced to borrow at short notice. In Marathi the benefit is listed as antyavidhi sahayya.

According to the board's welfare schemes page, this Rs 10,000 sits alongside a much larger set of death-related benefits, and families routinely miss the larger ones because they only hear about the funeral grant. The full picture on death of a registered worker is:

Funeral assistance is paid in addition to the death benefit, not instead of it. A family whose registered member died naturally should therefore file for Rs 10,000 and Rs 2,00,000, and the surviving spouse should separately register for the Rs 24,000 annual assistance.

Who is eligible for funeral assistance?

A claim can be made if:

• The deceased was a registered worker of the MBOCWW board and the registration was live, that is registered and renewed, on the date of death.
• The claimant is the nominee or legal heir: normally the spouse, otherwise a child, parent or other heir recognised by a heirship certificate.
• A death certificate issued by the competent medical or municipal authority is available.
• The claimant has an active bank account in their own name for DBT.

Registration with the board, which is the underlying condition, is open to a worker who is aged 18 to 60 years and has worked at least 90 days as a building or construction worker in the previous 12 months, certified by the employer, contractor or the local body.

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

• The deceased was never registered with the board. Registration cannot be done after death to create a claim.
• The registration had lapsed and was not renewed before the date of death.
• The worker was employed outside the scope of building and other construction work as defined under the Act, for example purely in a factory or shop.
• No death certificate can be produced, or the relationship of the claimant to the deceased cannot be established.
• The same funeral assistance has already been drawn by another heir for the same worker. The benefit is paid once per deceased worker.

What documents are required to claim funeral assistance?

Carry the originals for verification along with one self-attested photocopy set.

How to apply for funeral assistance online

1. Open the board's portal at mahabocw.in and go to the worker login at iwbms.mahabocw.in.
2. Log in using the Aadhaar number and the mobile number registered with the board, and complete the OTP verification.
3. Open the claim application form under claim management and select the funeral assistance (antyavidhi sahayya) scheme from the list.
4. Fill in the deceased worker's registration number, date of death and the claimant's details, then enter the claimant's bank account and IFSC.
5. Upload scanned copies of the death certificate, registration card, Aadhaar, bank passbook and proof of relationship, within the file size the portal specifies.
6. Submit the claim and save or print the acknowledgement carrying the claim reference number.
7. Track the claim status by logging in again and opening the claim history; the amount is credited by DBT after district-level verification.

How to apply for funeral assistance offline

1. Download the funeral assistance claim form from the welfare schemes page on mahabocw.in, or collect a printed copy from the district labour office.
2. Fill the form and attach the death certificate, the worker's registration card, the claimant's Aadhaar and bank passbook, and proof of relationship.
3. Submit the file to the district labour officer or the board's field office in the district where the worker was registered, and take a stamped acknowledgement.
4. Follow up at the same office quoting the inward number if there is no credit after a few weeks.

How much does the board pay, and how is it paid?

Funeral assistance is a one-time Rs 10,000. It is paid by Direct Benefit Transfer into the claimant's bank account, and the board does not disburse cash or cheques for this benefit. Because DBT depends on a correct account number and IFSC, an error in these fields is the most common reason a sanctioned claim still shows no credit.

Families should file the associated claims at the same visit rather than in separate rounds. Where the death was a natural death, the family also claims Rs 2,00,000; where it happened by accident at the work site, the claim is Rs 5,00,000 and needs the FIR and post-mortem report attached. The widow or widower separately claims Rs 24,000 a year for five years, which is a running benefit and not a one-time payment.

How to check your claim status

1. Log in at iwbms.mahabocw.in with the Aadhaar number and registered mobile number used for the claim.
2. Open the claim status or claim history section and enter the claim reference number from your acknowledgement.
3. If the claim was filed offline, call the board's helpdesk on 1800-8892-816, open 10:00 am to 6:00 pm, with the inward number.
4. Check the claimant's bank passbook for a credit narrated in the name of the welfare board.

Common reasons funeral assistance claims are rejected

• Registration not live on the date of death, this is the leading cause. Renewal lapses are common among seasonal workers, so keep the card current every year rather than waiting for a claim to arise.
• Death certificate not from a competent authority — a hospital slip or a cremation receipt is not a substitute for the registered death certificate.
• Claimant not the recorded nominee and no heirship certificate attached. Where the nominee entry in board records is blank or names someone who has also died, get a legal heir certificate from the Tahsildar.
• Bank details mismatch, the account name must match the claimant's Aadhaar name; a joint account in another person's name delays credit.
• Illegible uploads, scanned documents that cannot be read are returned for resubmission, which restarts verification.
• Duplicate claim for the same deceased worker filed by two relatives. Only one payment is made, and both files are held until the dispute is settled.

Important dates and deadlines

The board does not publish a fixed last date for funeral assistance claims, and applications are accepted through the year. The practical deadline is set by evidence rather than by calendar: the longer the gap between the death and the claim, the harder it becomes to establish that the registration was live and that the claimant is the rightful heir. The realistic advice is to file within a few weeks of receiving the death certificate.

The one date that genuinely matters in advance is the annual renewal date of the worker's registration. A worker whose card lapses loses access not only to funeral assistance but to the entire scheme list, including education, maternity, medical and housing benefits.

Where to get help or raise a grievance

• MBOCWW helpdesk toll-free: 1800-8892-816, 10:00 am to 6:00 pm.
• Board office: Maharashtra Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, 5th Floor, MMTC House, Plot C-22, E Block, Bandra Kurla Complex, Bandra East, Mumbai 400051; phone (022) 2657-2631 and (022) 2657-2632.
• Email: bocwwboardmaha@gmail.com or support@mahabocw.in.
• District labour office in the district of registration, for verification delays and document objections.

Filing a claim is free. The board charges nothing for registration, renewal or any welfare claim, and no middleman is authorised to collect a commission on the Rs 10,000 funeral assistance.