Death Benefit (Meghalaya Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board)

What is the MBOCWWB Death Benefit?

Death Benefit is a welfare scheme of the Meghalaya Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (MBOCWWB), the statutory board constituted under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996 and the Meghalaya rules made under it. The Board sits under the Labour Department, Government of Meghalaya, with its office at Lower Lachumiere, Shillong.

According to the Board's own death benefit page, the Board "may sanction any amount of Rs. 15,000 to the nominees/dependents of a member towards death benefit", and where the death is due to an accident during the course of employment, the nominee or dependants are given Rs 50,000. The difference between the two rates is decided on medical evidence, not on the family's account of what happened.

Construction is among the most dangerous occupations in the state; falls from height, scaffolding collapse and road accidents on the way to a site are the common causes, and the household usually loses its only earner without notice. The Death Benefit is the Board's cash response to that, funded from the cess collected on construction works in Meghalaya.

Key facts

• Amount: Rs 15,000 on death of a member.
• Higher amount: Rs 50,000 for accidental death during the course of employment.
• Claim form: Form No. XL, filed with the Secretary of the Board.
• Sanction register: kept by the sanctioning authority in Form No. XLI.
• Appeal window: 60 days from receipt of the order.
• A separate Funeral Benefit of Rs 1,000 can be claimed alongside.

Who is eligible for the Death Benefit?

A claim can be made if:

• The deceased was a registered member of the Meghalaya Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board at the time of death.
• The deceased's monthly subscription of Rs 5 was paid, evidenced by the challan or receipt the Board asks for. Live membership of the fund is the foundation of the claim.
• You are the nominee recorded with the Board, or a dependant. The Board's FAQ treats the spouse, minor children, adult children with a disability who cannot work, and unmarried daughters wholly dependent on the worker as dependants.
• A death certificate and a Government doctor's certificate (not below the rank of Assistant Surgeon) are available.

You are not eligible and cannot apply if:

• The deceased was never registered with the Board. There is no route to a construction-worker death benefit in Meghalaya without prior registration; the fund is reserved for members.
• The deceased's membership had lapsed through unpaid subscription, because the Board requires the subscription challan or receipt as proof.
• You are not the nominee and not a dependant, a relative outside that definition, a neighbour or an employer cannot claim on the family's behalf.
• The worker was a supervisory, managerial or administrative employee, whom the BOCW Act's definition of a building worker excludes.
• You are claiming the Rs 50,000 rate without medical evidence of an accident during employment. The claim is not rejected outright in that case; it is settled at Rs 15,000.

What documents are required for the Death Benefit?

The Board's rule text closes with "and the other documents specified by the BOARD", so the officer conducting the enquiry may ask for the nominee declaration recorded at registration, or for a bank passbook in the nominee's name for the credit.

How to apply for the MBOCWWB Death Benefit

1. Obtain the death certificate from the Registrar of Births and Deaths, and the certificate from a Government doctor not below the rank of Assistant Surgeon, stating whether the death was natural or accidental.
2. Collect the deceased member's registration card and the latest subscription challan or receipt, and keep the nominee's Voter ID or driving licence ready.
3. Fill in Form No. XL, downloadable from the forms page on megbocwwb.gov.in or available at the District Labour office, and attach all four documents.
4. Submit the form to the Secretary of the Board, or any other officer authorised by him, ordinarily routed through your local Labour Inspector. Alternatively, log in at megbocwwb.gov.in/bocw_services and file the death benefit application online, uploading the same enclosures.
5. Keep the acknowledgement. The Secretary or the authorised officer then conducts an enquiry into the claimant's eligibility.
6. On being satisfied, the officer sanctions the amount and records it in the register maintained in Form No. XLI. Payment goes to the nominee's bank or post office account.

How to appeal a rejected Death Benefit claim

Under the Board's rules, a person aggrieved by a decision on a death benefit claim may file an appeal before the Board within 60 days from the date of receipt of the order, and the Board's decision on the appeal is final. The practical points that matter:

1. Note the date on which you received the order, because the 60 days run from receipt, not from the date printed on the order.
2. State plainly what you are disputing, most appeals are about the rate applied (Rs 15,000 instead of Rs 50,000) rather than about rejection altogether.
3. Attach the medical evidence that was missing the first time. An accidental-death finding by a Government doctor of Assistant Surgeon rank or above is the document that moves the claim to the higher rate.
4. Address the appeal to the Board, through the Office of the Secretary, Lower Lachumiere, Shillong 793001.

Why Death Benefit claims get delayed or rejected

• No Government doctor's certificate, or a certificate from a private practitioner or a doctor below Assistant Surgeon rank.
• Subscription arrears at the time of death, so membership of the fund cannot be shown as live.
• Nominee not recorded with the Board at registration, which forces a longer enquiry into who the dependants are.
• Name mismatch between the registration record, the death certificate and the nominee's identity document.
• Claim filed on the wrong form; Form No. XXXIX is the funeral benefit and Form No. XL is the death benefit, and the two are commonly swapped.
• Accident during employment not established, which caps the claim at Rs 15,000 rather than rejecting it.

Families usually fix these by returning to the Labour Inspector with the missing certificate rather than starting a fresh claim. Where the member's registration itself is unclear, ask the District Labour office to pull the registration file before filing.

What else does MBOCWWB registration cover?

Registration costs Rs 10, the subscription is Rs 5 a month, and the same membership opens the Board's other schemes:

• Funeral Benefit: Rs 1,000 towards funeral expenses, Form No. XXXIX.
• Medical Benefit; Rs 200 for the first 5 days and Rs 20 a day thereafter, with a minimum of Rs 1,000 and up to Rs 5,000 in case of disability.
• Maternity Benefit — Rs 1,000 per maternity, up to two times.
• Marriage Benefit, Rs 2,000, for up to two children.
• Pension Plan, Rs 150 a month from age 60.
• Family Pension to 50 per cent of the pension or Rs 100, whichever is higher, which is the relevant benefit where the deceased was already a pensioner of the Board.
• Disability Pension, Rs 150 a month plus ex-gratia of up to Rs 5,000.
• Loans for Tools; Rs 5,000, recovered in up to 60 instalments.
• Purchase or construction advance: up to Rs 50,000 in Form No. XXXVI.

A family that has just lost a member should check the Family Pension entry as well: where the deceased was drawing the Board's welfare pension, that stream continues to the survivor rather than ending with the one-time death benefit.

Help and grievance redressal

• Office of the Secretary, MBOCWWB, Lower Lachumiere, Shillong 793001.
• Phone: 0364 2501224.
• Email: mbocwwb-meg[at]gov[dot]in.
• Appeal: to the Board, within 60 days of receiving the order.
• District route: district-wise contacts for East, West and South West Khasi Hills, Ri Bhoi, East and West Jaintia Hills, and East, West, North and South Garo Hills are published on megbocwwb.gov.in.
• RTI: the Board's RTI page names the Public Information Officer and the Appellate Authority where a claim stalls without any order at all.

Claiming is free. No agent is authorised to charge a bereaved family a fee for filing or following up a death benefit claim with the Board.