BOCW Financial Assistance Scheme for Spectacles, Denture and Hearing Aid (Punjab)

What is the BOCW Denture, Spectacles and Hearing Aid Scheme in Punjab?

BOCW Denture, Spectacles and Hearing Aid Scheme is Welfare Scheme No. 7 of the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, framed under Rule 265 of the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers Rules, 2008. The Board, constituted on 30 April 2009 under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, sits within the Department of Labour, Punjab.

The scheme is small in rupee terms and large in practical effect. A mason who cannot see the line he is laying, a labourer who cannot hear a shouted warning on site, and a worker who cannot chew because of missing teeth all lose earning capacity for want of an appliance costing a few thousand rupees. The Board pays for that appliance out of the construction cess it collects.

According to the Board's scheme document, financial assistance is given at the following rates to registered beneficiary construction workers and their family members.

How much does the scheme pay for each article?

Two rules decide the amount actually credited. First, the beneficiary receives the actual expenditure or the scheme rate, whichever is less, on the basis of the bills produced. A hearing aid bought for Rs 4,200 draws Rs 4,200, not Rs 6,000. Second, the benefit is available only once to a beneficiary or a family member: there is no replacement cycle written into the scheme.

Who is eligible for the spectacles, denture and hearing aid assistance?

You can claim if:

• You are registered as a beneficiary of the Punjab BOCW Welfare Board. Registration is open to construction workers aged 18 to 60 who have done building or other construction work in Punjab for at least 90 days in the preceding 12 months. The one-time registration fee is Rs 25 and the contribution is Rs 10 per month, with registration taken for one to five years at a time.
• You have been depositing your contribution regularly. The scheme states the condition explicitly: the beneficiary construction worker must be depositing his contribution regularly.
• The article is for you or for a family member under Rule 2(t) of the Punjab BOCW Rules, 2008, the husband or wife, minor sons including major sons who are insane or physically handicapped and unable to earn, unmarried daughters, and the parents of the building worker who are solely dependent on him.
• A government medical officer, or the in-charge of the ESI dispensary, has recommended the spectacles, denture or hearing aid.
• You hold the original paid bill for the article.

You are not eligible if:

• You are not registered with the Board, or your registration has lapsed for non-payment of contributions. An unregistered construction worker cannot apply, and registration cannot be backdated to cover a purchase already made.
• You or your family member have already obtained financial assistance for the same article from another department. The scheme bars the benefit in that situation outright.
• You or the family member have already taken this benefit once. The scheme is a one-time benefit per person.
• The person needing the appliance is outside the Rule 2(t) family, a married daughter, a brother, or a parent who is not solely dependent on the worker.
• You have only a private prescription and no recommendation from a government medical officer or ESI dispensary in-charge.

How to apply for the BOCW spectacles, denture or hearing aid benefit

1. Get examined at a government facility. Visit the government hospital, civil dispensary or ESI dispensary in your area and have the eye test, dental examination or audiometry done there. Ask specifically for the written recommendation the Board requires — the scheme grants assistance only on the recommendation of a government medical officer or the ESI dispensary in-charge.
2. Buy the article and keep the original bill. Spectacles, denture or hearing aid, the bill must be in the name of the beneficiary or the family member, and must be a paid bill rather than an estimate.
3. Check that your registration is current. If contributions have lapsed, generate a challan on bocw.punjab.gov.in and deposit the renewal amount, with penalty if applicable, into the Punjab Construction Workers Welfare Board account (IFSC PUNB0324800) before filing.
4. Go to the nearest Sewa Kendra with the registration card, Aadhaar, the medical recommendation, the original bill, proof of relationship if the claim is for a family member, and your bank passbook. The Board's portal is integrated with the Punjab Sewa portal, so the operator files and uploads the application on bocw.punjab.gov.in.
5. Or apply through your area labour officer, the Assistant Labour Commissioner, Labour-cum-Conciliation Officer, Labour Inspector or Labour Enforcement Officer, who can route the application onto the portal.
6. Take the acknowledgement with the application number and track it later under Check your Scheme Application Status.

How is the application processed and paid?

The Board follows a common sanction chain across its welfare schemes. The application is verified by the committee constituted at sub-divisional level, then approved by the Deputy Commissioner, after which the sanctioned list is sent to the Board for direct transfer of the benefit into the bank account of the beneficiary. There is no cash counter and no cheque collection.

Because this is a reimbursement scheme, the amount credited is fixed by the bill, not by the ceiling. Keep a photocopy of the bill before submitting it, since the original is uploaded and retained with the file.

How do you check your application status?

1. Open bocw.punjab.gov.in.
2. Select Check your Scheme Application Status and log in with your beneficiary registration number.
3. If you registered offline and have no online registration number, use the facility on the home page: enter your earlier registration number along with the Aadhaar number or mobile number recorded at registration, and the online number is sent to you by SMS. If no number is generated, get the registration form updated at a Sewa Kendra.

The same portal also offers Download Id Card and Download Registration Card, both of which are useful when a Sewa Kendra asks for proof of current beneficiary status.

Why do these claims get rejected?

• No government medical recommendation. The most frequent reason. A shop prescription from an optician or an audiologist working for a hearing-aid dealer does not meet the scheme's condition.
• Registration lapsed. Contributions of Rs 10 a month stopped and the registration expired before the purchase date.
• Benefit already taken. The Board's records show a previous claim for the same article by the same person, and the scheme allows it only once.
• Double benefit. Assistance for the same spectacles, denture or hearing aid has already come from another government department or institution.
• Estimate instead of a paid bill, or a bill in a name that does not match the beneficiary or the recorded family member.
• Dependency not established, especially for parents, where the rule requires that they be solely dependent on the worker.

If a claim is rejected, ask the sanctioning officer for the ground in writing. The Board's rules for its pension scheme provide for an appeal to the Secretary of the Board within 60 days of rejection by the SDM-level committee, with delay of up to one year condonable and no rejection without a personal hearing; the Secretary's office is the escalation point for scheme grievances generally.

Where do you get help with this scheme?

• Portal: bocw.punjab.gov.in, the Welfare Schemes menu, the Forms and Procedures section, the HelpDesk link, the Telephone Directory of Board and Labour Department officers, and the FAQs page.
• Sewa Kendra: for filing applications and updating registration records.
• Area labour officer: Assistant Labour Commissioner, Labour-cum-Conciliation Officer, Labour Inspector or Labour Enforcement Officer.

Registration with the Board costs Rs 25 once and Rs 10 a month. No agent, dealer or middleman is entitled to a share of the assistance, which reaches the beneficiary's own bank account by direct transfer.