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

What is the MBOCWWB Funeral Benefit?

Funeral Benefit is one of the welfare schemes 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 works under the Labour Department, Government of Meghalaya, from Lower Lachumiere, Shillong.

According to the Board's funeral assistance page, the Board "may sanction an amount of Rs. 1,000/- to the nominees/dependents of a deceased member, towards funeral expenses". The payment is a flat sum, not a reimbursement of what the family actually spent, and it does not depend on how the worker died. Readers who search for it as funeral assistance or by the form name Form No. XXXIX are looking at the same benefit.

The purpose is immediate and narrow. A construction worker's family in Meghalaya faces funeral costs within a day or two of the death, long before any larger settlement is processed. Funeral Benefit is designed as the first, quickest payment; the Board's separate Death Benefit of Rs 15,000, or Rs 50,000 for an accident during the course of employment, follows on a longer enquiry.

Key facts

• Amount: Rs 1,000, flat.
• Claim form: Form No. XXXIX (about 170 kb as published by the Board).
• Documents: death certificate, subscription challan or receipt, nominee's proof.
• Paid in addition to the Death Benefit, which uses Form No. XL.
• Contact: Office of the Secretary, MBOCWWB, Shillong, on 0364 2501224.

Who is eligible for the Funeral Benefit?

A claim can be made if:

• The deceased was a registered member of the Meghalaya Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board.
• The deceased's Rs 5 monthly subscription was current, shown by the challan or receipt the Board asks for.
• You are the nominee on record with the Board, or a dependant of the deceased. 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 has been issued by the Registrar of Births and Deaths or the competent local authority.

You are not eligible and cannot apply if:

• The worker was never registered with the Board. Registration is open to construction workers aged more than 18 and less than 60 who worked at least 90 days in a year, costs Rs 10 and carries a Rs 5 monthly subscription, but it has to be done while the worker is alive.
• The membership had lapsed through unpaid subscription, since the Board requires the subscription receipt as one of only three documents.
• You are neither the nominee nor a dependant. An employer, contractor, neighbour or distant relative cannot claim the money for themselves, although they can help the family file.
• The deceased was a supervisory, managerial or administrative employee, whom the BOCW Act's definition of a building worker excludes.
• You are claiming for a family member of the worker rather than for the worker. The Board's funeral benefit text is about the funeral of the deceased member, not of a dependant.

What documents are required for the Funeral Benefit?

Only three documents are named on the Board's page, which makes the Funeral Benefit the lightest claim the Board handles. Bring a bank or post office passbook in the nominee's name as well, because the sanctioned amount is credited rather than paid in cash.

How to apply for the MBOCWWB Funeral Benefit

1. Register the death and obtain the death certificate from the Registrar of Births and Deaths or the competent local authority.
2. Collect the deceased member's registration card and the latest challan or receipt for the Rs 5 monthly subscription, and keep the nominee's Voter ID or driving licence ready.
3. Download Form No. XXXIX, published on the forms page of megbocwwb.gov.in as "Funeral Benefit", or collect a printed copy from your District Labour office.
4. Fill in the form, attach the three documents, and submit it to the Secretary of the Board or the officer authorised by him, ordinarily through your local Labour Inspector.
5. Keep the acknowledgement and note the date of submission.
6. Where you prefer the online route, log in at megbocwwb.gov.in/bocw_services, open the benefit schemes menu, file the funeral assistance application, upload the same three documents, and follow the file under Track Application Status → View Details.

How to apply online through the MBOCWWB portal

1. Open megbocwwb.gov.in/bocw_services and sign in with the worker's registered login, or create a login through New Registration → Worker if the family does not have one.
2. Select the funeral assistance application from the list of benefit schemes.
3. Upload the MBOCWWB ID, death certificate, subscription receipt and nominee's identity proof, and submit.
4. Track the file under Track Application Status, and use Application History to see which officer is holding it. The file moves from the Block or District dealing assistant to the Labour Inspector and then to the District Labour Commissioner.

How much does the Funeral Benefit pay, and how does it compare?

The Meghalaya Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board pays a flat Rs 1,000. Set expectations honestly: Rs 1,000 does not cover a funeral in Meghalaya. Its value is that it is the fastest of the Board's death-related payments, needs only three documents, and is paid on top of the larger Death Benefit rather than instead of it.

A family of a registered worker who died in a site accident is therefore looking at Rs 50,000 death benefit plus Rs 1,000 funeral benefit, filed as two separate applications on two separate forms. Where the death was not an accident during employment, the combined figure is Rs 15,000 plus Rs 1,000. Filing only one of the two is the most common and most expensive mistake families make.

Why Funeral Benefit claims get delayed or rejected

• Subscription arrears at the time of death, so live membership of the fund cannot be shown.
• No death certificate yet. Families sometimes file with a hospital slip; the Board asks for the registered death certificate.
• Nominee not recorded with the Board at registration, which forces an enquiry into who the dependants are before any sanction.
• Wrong form. Form No. XXXIX is the funeral benefit; Form No. XL is the death benefit. Filing one and assuming it covers both is the standard error.
• Name mismatch between the registration record, the death certificate and the nominee's identity document.
• Worker was never enrolled, which no amount of documentation after the fact can cure.

Most of these are fixed by going back to the District Labour office with the missing paper rather than starting a fresh claim. Where the Board has passed an order the family disputes, note that the Board's rules allow an appeal within 60 days of receiving the order in death-related claims.

What else does MBOCWWB registration cover?

The same Rs 10 registration and Rs 5 monthly subscription open the Board's other schemes:

• Death Benefit, Rs 15,000, or Rs 50,000 where death is due to an accident during the course of employment, in Form No. XL.
• Family Pension to 50 per cent of the pension or Rs 100, whichever is higher, where the deceased was already drawing the Board's welfare pension.
• Medical Benefit, Rs 200 for the first 5 days and Rs 20 a day thereafter, minimum Rs 1,000, 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.
• 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.

Help and grievance redressal

• Office of the Secretary, MBOCWWB, Lower Lachumiere, Shillong 793001, Meghalaya.
• Phone: 0364 2501224.
• Email: mbocwwb-meg[at]gov[dot]in.
• District route: the Board publishes 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 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.

Claiming is free. No agent is authorised to charge a bereaved family for filing or following up a funeral benefit claim.