Natural Death Benefit Scheme (Puducherry Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board)

What is the Natural Death Benefit Scheme?

Natural Death Benefit Scheme is a welfare benefit of the Puducherry Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, which operates under the Labour Department, Union Territory of Puducherry. When a registered construction worker dies a natural death, the Board extends Rs 70,000 to the nominee or dependant, apart from Rs 70,000 extended through Life Insurance Corporation cover. The amount is credited through Direct Benefit Transfer into the nominee's bank account.

The design matters. A construction worker's household typically loses its entire income the day the worker dies, and funeral costs land immediately. The Board's payment is meant to arrive quickly, within one month of the application; rather than after a long adjudication.

The Board is constituted under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996. Its funds come from the cess levied on construction spending in the Union Territory and from the registration fees and annual subscriptions paid by workers themselves.

Key features

• Rs 70,000 from the Board to the nominee or dependant.
• A further Rs 70,000 through Life Insurance Corporation cover.
• Applies to natural death, not accidental death.
• Paid by Direct Benefit Transfer within one month of the application.
• Claim window of two months from the date of death.

Who is eligible for the natural death benefit?

The nominee can claim if:

• The claimant is the nominee or dependant of the deceased construction worker.
• The deceased was a citizen of India.
• The deceased was registered as a construction worker with the Puducherry Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board during his or her lifetime.
• The deceased had completed 18 years of age.
• The deceased had not completed 60 years of age during the preceding 12 months in construction work.
• The deceased had contributed regularly to the fund.
• The deceased had not defaulted in payment of contribution to the Board for a continuous period of more than one year.

You cannot apply if:

• The deceased was never registered with the Board. Registration during the worker's lifetime is the basis of every Board benefit, and it cannot be done posthumously.
• The deceased's contributions had lapsed for more than one continuous year. The nominee is not eligible in that case.
• The death was accidental. Accidental death is handled under the Board's separate accident benefit, and filing under the wrong head delays everything.
• You are neither a recorded nominee nor a dependant able to prove dependency.
• More than two months have passed since the date of death, in which case the claim is time-barred.

How much is paid and how quickly?

• Rs 70,000 from the Board's own fund.
• Rs 70,000 through Life Insurance Corporation cover arranged for registered workers, which the Board describes as being apart from its own payment.
• Time of disbursal: within 1 month of the application.
• Mode of disbursal: Direct Benefit Transfer into the nominee's bank account.

The two components are separate. The LIC element follows the insurer's own settlement process, so the Board's Rs 70,000 and the insurance amount may not arrive together. Do not treat a single credit as the full settlement without checking with the Board.

How to apply for the Natural Death Benefit

1. Collect the prescribed form. The nominee should visit the office of the Puducherry Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry - 605009, and obtain the application form free of cost from the authority entrusted with issuing and collecting applications. Alternatively, print the form from the "Application for Welfare Benefits" section of the Labour Department's Citizen's Charter published at labour.py.gov.in.
2. Fill in every mandatory field. Paste a passport-size photograph, sign it across if required, and give the deceased worker's registration number, the date of death and your own bank details accurately.
3. Attach self-attested copies of the documents. Death certificate, the worker's Board identity card or registration record, evidence of contribution payments, the nomination record or a legal heir certificate, your Aadhaar and your bank passbook. Carry the originals for verification.
4. Submit at the Board's office. Hand the duly filled and signed form with the documents to the concerned authority at Thattanchavady.
5. Take an acknowledgement. Ask for a receipt with the date and time of submission and a unique identification number where one is issued. This is your proof that you filed inside the two-month window.

The application must be submitted within two months from the date of death of the construction worker.

How do I follow up on the claim?

No online tracking facility is published for this benefit. Follow up in person at the Board's office at Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry - 605009, quoting the deceased worker's registration number and your acknowledgement.

The Labour Department's Citizen's Charter contains both the scheme guidelines and the grievance redressal section, and it is the document Board staff work from. Carrying the relevant printed pages makes a counter conversation considerably shorter.

Since the Board undertakes to credit within one month, check the bank passbook from the fourth week onwards rather than waiting for a letter.

Why do natural death benefit claims fail?

• Filed after two months. By far the most common cause. Start the claim in the first fortnight, even while other formalities are pending.
• Contribution arrears. A default of more than one continuous year disqualifies the claim outright. Workers should keep subscription receipts where the family can find them.
• No nomination on record and no legal heir certificate. Apply to the Revenue Department for a legal heir certificate as soon as the death certificate is issued.
• Death certificate delay. Register the death promptly; the certificate is the anchor document.
• Wrong benefit head. An accidental death filed as a natural death is returned. Check the cause recorded on the death certificate first.
• Bank details of the nominee incorrect. A name mismatch between Aadhaar and the passbook stops the Direct Benefit Transfer.

What are the key numbers and dates?

• Rs 70,000. The Board's payment to the nominee.
• Rs 70,000, the additional amount through LIC cover.
• 2 months from the date of death — the claim deadline.
• 1 month. The Board's stated time for crediting the sanctioned amount.
• 18 years and 60 years, the age boundaries applied to the deceased worker's registration.
• 1 year, the maximum continuous contribution default permitted.

How do I raise a grievance?

Approach the Secretary of the Puducherry Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board at Industrial Estate, Thattanchavady, Puducherry - 605009. The grievance redressal section of the Labour Department's Citizen's Charter, published at labour.py.gov.in, names the officers responsible and sets out the escalation ladder within the department. Beyond that, a complaint can be addressed to the Labour Commissioner, Government of Puducherry, or filed on the central public grievance portal at pgportal.gov.in. A dedicated telephone helpline for the Board is not published on the departmental website, so the office address and the departmental contact page are the reliable routes.