Maternity Benefit, Meghalaya Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board

What is the MBOCWWB Maternity Benefit?

Maternity Benefit of the Meghalaya Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (MBOCWWB) is a cash assistance of Rs 1,000 paid to a registered woman construction worker during the period of her maternity. The Board is a statutory body under the Labour Department, Government of Meghalaya, with its office at Lower Lachumiere, Shillong 793001. Workers in the state usually call it the BOCW Board, and this benefit appears on the Board's own scheme list simply as Maternity Benefit.

According to the Board's schemes page, the rule reads that the woman beneficiary of the fund shall be given Rs 1,000 each as maternity benefit during the period of maternity, and that this benefit shall not be allowed for more than twice. The lifetime maximum from this scheme is therefore Rs 2,000, across two maternities.

The purpose is narrow and practical. A woman working on a construction site loses her daily earnings entirely during the weeks around a delivery, and construction work in Meghalaya is overwhelmingly daily-wage. The Rs 1,000 does not replace those wages; it is a one-time cash cushion from the welfare fund built up out of the cess on construction works in the state and the members' own Rs 5 monthly subscriptions. It sits alongside, and does not substitute for, any statutory maternity entitlement a woman may have against an employer.

Maternity Benefit is one of about a dozen benefits the Board runs. The others include medical assistance, death benefit, funeral benefit, marriage benefit, loans for tools, educational scholarships, cash awards for high SSLC scorers, welfare pension, disability pension and family pension. A registered woman worker can draw more than one of these over her working life, provided she meets the conditions of each separately.

Who is eligible for the MBOCWWB Maternity Benefit?

A woman worker is eligible if:

• She is a registered beneficiary of the MBOCWWB fund and holds the photo identity card issued by the Deputy Labour Commissioner.
• She has undergone a maternity while a member of the fund.
• She has not already claimed this benefit twice.
• Her subscription of Rs 5 a month is current and her registration has not lapsed.

Registration is the gateway, and it has its own conditions. Under the Board's enrolment rules a worker must be between 18 and 60 years of age and must have completed at least 90 days of construction work during the preceding 12 months, whether inside Meghalaya or outside it. Days worked under MGNREGA count towards the 90 days when combined with construction work, and women from Meghalaya working as construction labour in other states may register with the Meghalaya Board. Registration costs Rs 10 as a one-time charge, plus the Rs 5 monthly subscription.

A woman cannot apply, or is not eligible, if:

• She is not registered with the MBOCWWB. There is no route to claim as an unregistered construction worker; she would have to enrol first, which cannot be done retrospectively for a maternity that has already occurred.
• She has already received maternity benefit twice from the Board.
• She is a member of another welfare fund. The declaration signed at enrolment requires a statement that the applicant is not enrolled in any other welfare fund.
• Her registration has lapsed through unpaid subscriptions, until it is regularised.
• The claimant is the husband or another family member. This benefit is payable to the woman worker herself, not to the wife of a male registered worker.

That last point is the most common misreading of the scheme. A male construction worker's wife giving birth does not trigger this benefit; the Board's rule attaches it to the woman who is herself the beneficiary of the fund.

What documents are required for the maternity claim?

Keep the originals of the hospital papers and file attested photocopies. Where a second claim is being made for a later maternity, the file should also make clear that this is the second and final claim under the twice-only rule, which avoids the Board sending the papers back for clarification.

How to apply for the MBOCWWB Maternity Benefit

1. Check that your registration is live, that your identity card has not lapsed and your Rs 5 monthly subscription is paid up to date. Clear arrears at your district labour office before filing anything.
2. Obtain the medical certificate of the maternity from the doctor or hospital, and collect the hospital bills.
3. Collect Form No. XXXIII from the office of the Deputy Labour Commissioner, your district labour office, or the Board's website.
4. Fill in the form with your registration number, the date of the maternity, whether this is your first or second claim, and your bank account details.
5. Attach the supporting papers — medical certificate, hospital bills, identity card copy, latest subscription receipt and passbook, and a photocopy of the first page of your bank passbook.
6. Submit the claim to the Secretary of the Meghalaya Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, Lower Lachumiere, Shillong 793001, or through your district labour office.
7. Keep the acknowledgement with your registration number written on it.

To claim online instead, open the BOCW Online Portal linked from megbocwwb.gov.in, log in with your registered account (creating one and recovering the password by email or phone OTP if needed), and select maternity support from the benefits available for online application. The portal also handles online applications for cash awards, death benefit, disability pension, educational scholarships, family pension, funeral benefit, instrument grants, marriage assistance, medical benefit and welfare pension.

How do you check the status of a maternity claim?

The Board's online portal does not advertise a self-service application status tracker. The practical routes are:

• Call the Board office on 0364 2501224 with your registration number and the date the claim was submitted.
• Email mbocwwb-meg[at]gov[dot]in with the same details.
• Visit your district labour office, where the Deputy Labour Commissioner acts as Registering Officer and keeps the local beneficiary register.

The Rs 1,000 is a one-time credit, so watch the bank passbook for the entry rather than expecting a separate sanction letter.

Why maternity claims get rejected, and how to fix them

• Subscription arrears. The most common reason a claim stalls. Pay the outstanding Rs 5 monthly contributions at the district labour office and attach a fresh receipt.
• No medical certificate or hospital bill. The Board's requirement names both. Where the delivery was at home, get a written certificate from the attending ANM, health centre or medical officer and ask the district labour office how it will be treated before filing.
• Third claim. A woman who has already drawn the benefit twice cannot be paid a third time; the rule is explicit.
• Claim filed by a male member for his wife. Rejected as outside the scheme. The male worker's family may still be eligible for other Board benefits such as educational assistance for children.
• Name mismatch between the hospital record, the identity card and the bank passbook. Correct the spelling at source, or attach a certificate from the local headman or village authority explaining the variation.
• Lapsed identity card. Renew it with the Deputy Labour Commissioner first.

What are the key dates and conditions?

Maternity Benefit has no annual window and no last date to apply. The relevant timing is the maternity itself: the claim should be filed during or shortly after the maternity period, while the medical certificate and hospital bills are fresh and the membership is unambiguously live. The scheme's only hard numerical limits are the Rs 1,000 per maternity and the two-maternity maximum.

Registration timing matters more than claim timing. A woman must be registered before the maternity occurs, and registration itself is only open between the ages of 18 and 60 to workers with 90 days of construction work in the preceding 12 months. A woman who expects to work in construction should enrol early rather than at the point of needing a benefit.

Where do you raise a grievance?

• Meghalaya Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, Lower Lachumiere, Shillong 793001
• Phone: 0364 2501224
• Email: mbocwwb-meg[at]gov[dot]in
• Deputy Labour Commissioner / district labour office, the Registering Officer for beneficiaries
• Labour Department, Government of Meghalaya (meglabour.gov.in), which also runs the office of the Labour Commissioner

The Board publishes RTI provisions on its website, so a written RTI application is available where a claim has been pending unreasonably long. The only charges in this scheme are the notified Rs 10 registration fee and the Rs 5 monthly subscription; no agent may charge a woman worker for filing a maternity claim.