Marriage Assistance Scheme, Puducherry Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board

What is the Marriage Assistance Scheme of the Puducherry construction workers board?

Marriage Assistance is a welfare benefit of the Puducherry Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, which functions under the Labour Department, Government of Puducherry. The Board is constituted under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, and is funded by the cess collected on construction work in the Union Territory together with the contributions paid by registered workers.

Marriage Assistance pays Rs 7,000 by Direct Benefit Transfer on the marriage of a registered construction worker's child. The benefit can be drawn for up to two children, and a registered woman worker can claim it for her own marriage as well.

The scheme sits alongside the Board's other benefits, accident and disablement benefits, maternity assistance, funeral assistance, education assistance and pension; all of which are open only to workers who are registered members of the Board and current on their contributions. That single condition, active registration, is what separates a successful claim from a rejected one more often than anything else.

Construction work covered by the Board includes masonry, carpentry, bar bending, plumbing, electrical work, painting, welding, tile laying, road work, well digging and the many other trades listed under the 1996 Act, whether the worker is engaged directly by a household or through a contractor.

Who is eligible for construction worker marriage assistance in Puducherry?

You can claim the assistance if:

• You are registered as a construction worker with the Puducherry Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board.
• You have completed 18 years of age.
• You are contributing regularly to the Board's fund and have not defaulted on contributions for more than one continuous year.
• The marriage is that of your child, subject to a maximum of two children, or your own marriage if you are a registered woman worker.
• The application is filed within six months of the date of marriage.

You are not eligible and cannot apply if:

• You are not registered with the Board. Working in construction is not by itself enough; the registration must exist and be live at the time of the marriage.
• You have defaulted on contributions for more than one continuous year. Lapsed membership must be revived before a benefit claim will be entertained.
• You are claiming for a third or subsequent child. The benefit is capped at two children per registered worker.
• The six-month window has expired.
• The marriage is below the legal age of marriage for either partner.
• You are a construction contractor or employer rather than a worker. The Board's benefits are for workers, not for those who engage them.

What documents are required?

How to apply for marriage assistance under the Puducherry board

1. Confirm that your Board registration is live and that your contributions are paid up. If contributions have lapsed for less than a continuous year, clear the arrears before filing the claim.
2. Collect the marriage documents, the marriage certificate or invitation and age proof for both bride and groom.
3. Obtain the marriage assistance application form from the Labour Department or the Board's office. Forms are also available at the Board's regional offices in Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam.
4. Fill in the form with your registration number, the name of the child (or your own name, if you are a woman worker marrying), the date of marriage, and your bank account number and IFSC code.
5. Attach all enclosures, including a self-attested copy of your registration card and bank passbook.
6. Submit the application within six months of the marriage at the Board or Labour Department office in your region and collect the acknowledgement.
7. Track the claim with the acknowledgement number until the Rs 7,000 is credited to your account.

How much is paid and how?

The assistance is Rs 7,000 per marriage, released by Direct Benefit Transfer into the registered worker's own bank account. It is a one-time payment for that marriage.

A registered worker with two children can therefore draw the assistance twice — once for each child's marriage, for a combined Rs 14,000 over the life of the registration. A registered woman worker can additionally draw Rs 7,000 for her own marriage.

Because payment is by DBT and not in cash, the accuracy of the bank account number and IFSC code on the form directly determines whether the money arrives. A closed or dormant account is the commonest cause of a sanctioned claim failing at the payment stage.

How do I check the status of a marriage assistance claim?

1. Keep the acknowledgement slip issued when you submitted the application, and note the claim reference number.
2. Contact the Board or Labour Department office where you filed and quote the reference number.
3. Ask whether the file is at verification, sanction or payment stage.
4. If sanction has been issued but no credit has appeared in your account, check the account details recorded on the file, a wrong IFSC or a closed account is the usual explanation.

Why marriage assistance claims get rejected

• Registration not live, or contributions in default for more than one continuous year.
• Application filed after six months from the date of marriage.
• Claim for a third child, beyond the two-child cap.
• Age proof missing or showing under-age marriage.
• Bank account inactive or details wrongly entered, so the DBT fails.
• Marriage documents inconsistent, the invitation showing one date and the certificate another.
• Duplicate claim where the same marriage has already been sanctioned, for example where both parents are registered workers and both applied.

Where the rejection is on a document ground and the six-month window is still open, the claim can be corrected and refiled.

Where do I complain if the assistance is delayed?

• Labour Department, Government of Puducherry: the department's office in Puducherry handles the Board's administration and can be reached on +91-413-2241562.
• Regional offices: Karaikal, Mahe and Yanam have their own Labour Department offices which accept and forward complaints.
• CPGRAMS at pgportal.gov.in for a written grievance with a trackable reference number.

Registration with the Board and every benefit claim under it are free. No agent or contractor can charge a fee for registering you or for getting a marriage assistance claim sanctioned, and any such demand should be reported to the Labour Department.