BOCW Scheme for Reimbursement of Expenditure on Occupational Diseases (Punjab)

What is the BOCW Occupational Diseases Scheme in Punjab?

BOCW Occupational Diseases Scheme is the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board's reimbursement scheme for the treatment of serious ailments contracted by construction workers and suffered by their dependants. In the Board's own scheme document, approved under Rule 265 of the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers Rules, 2008, it appears as Welfare Scheme No. 6 to scheme for reimbursement of expenditure incurred for the treatment of serious ailments of the beneficiary construction workers engaged in construction work and their dependants.

According to that document, the Board has approved reimbursement of a maximum of Rs 1,00,000 or the actual expenditure, whichever is less, for treatment of sixteen named dangerous diseases.

The logic of the scheme is occupational. Punjab's construction workforce cuts stone, mixes cement, breaks concrete, sprays paint and handles solvents, and several of the listed conditions, silicosis, asbestosis, occupational dermatitis, benzene and lead poisoning, noise induced hearing loss; are direct consequences of that exposure. The Board funds the scheme from the cess levied and collected under the Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Cess Act, along with registration and contribution fees. The Board's portal records Rs 1,195.76 crore of cess received up to 30 June 2018 and roughly Rs 608.82 crore spent on welfare schemes and administration, with 7.48 lakh registered beneficiaries by that date.

Which 16 diseases does the Punjab BOCW scheme cover?

The scheme lists the following ailments, and reimbursement is available only for these:

1. Occupational dermatitis
2. Occupational cancer
3. Asbestosis
4. Silicosis
5. Lead poisoning, including poisoning by any preparation or compound of lead in building and other construction work, or its sequelae
6. Benzene poisoning, including poisoning by any of its homologues, their nitro or amino derivatives, or its sequelae
7. Occupational asthma
8. Pesticide poisoning
9. Toxic jaundice
10. Toxic anaemia
11. Compressed air illness (caissons disease)
12. Noise induced hearing loss
13. Toxic nephritis
14. Cancer operation or treatment
15. Heart surgery
16. Kidney transplant

Three items on this list: cancer treatment, heart surgery and kidney transplant — are not occupational in origin, but the Board has included them because they are the high-cost interventions most likely to bankrupt a construction worker's household.

Silicosis has a separate route as well. Under the Board's Mobile Lab Scheme, mobile laboratories screen registered workers and their families for silicosis and other diseases, and where silicosis is detected, treatment expenditure of up to Rs 1.5 lakh is reimbursed. A worker diagnosed with silicosis should check which of the two ceilings applies to their case before filing.

Who is eligible for reimbursement under this scheme?

You can claim if:

• You are registered as a beneficiary with the Punjab Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board. Registration is open to a construction worker aged 18 to 60 who has worked on building or other construction work in Punjab for at least 90 days in the last 12 months, on payment of a one-time registration fee of Rs 25 and a contribution of Rs 10 per month, for a term of one to five years at a time.
• The illness treated is one of the 16 listed diseases.
• The Civil Surgeon has verified the expenditure on treatment.
• Where the claim is for a relative, that person is a member of your family under Rule 2(t) of the Punjab BOCW Rules, 2008 to husband or wife, minor sons including major sons who are insane or physically handicapped and unable to earn, unmarried daughters, and parents solely dependent on the worker, and proof of dependency is produced.
• You have first exhausted the Rs 50,000 available for all health ailments through the Bhagat Puran Singh Sehat Bima Yojna health card. Only the balance above that is claimable here.

You are not eligible if:

• You are an unregistered construction worker, or your registration lapsed because contributions stopped. Registration cannot be created retrospectively to cover treatment already taken.
• The ailment is outside the list of 16. A general illness, a routine admission or an ordinary surgery does not qualify here; the Board runs a separate General Surgery Scheme with a Rs 50,000 ceiling for that.
• The BPSSBY cover has not been used first where the beneficiary holds a health card.
• The bills are not verified by the Civil Surgeon, or the dependency of the patient on the worker cannot be established.

How to apply for the BOCW Occupational Diseases reimbursement in Punjab

1. Get the diagnosis in writing. Ensure the treating hospital records the condition by its proper name; silicosis, asbestosis, occupational asthma and so on, so that it maps to the scheme's list. A vague discharge summary is the usual cause of delay.
2. Use the BPSSBY health card first if you hold one. Take the free indoor treatment of up to Rs 50,000 per family per year available in government and empanelled private hospitals, and keep the utilisation record.
3. Collect and organise the bills. Reimbursement is of actual expenditure or Rs 1 lakh, whichever is less, so itemised original bills, prescriptions, investigation reports and discharge summaries all matter.
4. Get the expenditure verified by the Civil Surgeon of your district. This is a mandatory condition of the scheme, not an optional endorsement.
5. File the claim at the nearest Sewa Kendra, which submits it on bocw.punjab.gov.in, or through the Assistant Labour Commissioner, Labour-cum-Conciliation Officer, Labour Inspector or Labour Enforcement Officer of your area. Carry the registration card, Aadhaar, bank passbook, the verified bills, and the dependency proof if the patient is a family member.
6. Keep the acknowledgement with the application number, then track the claim through Check your Scheme Application Status on the portal.
7. Wait for the sanction chain. In line with the Board's procedure for its welfare schemes, the application is verified by the committee constituted at sub-divisional level, approved by the Deputy Commissioner, and the sanctioned list is sent to the Board for direct transfer into the beneficiary's bank account.

How do you check the status of your claim?

1. Open bocw.punjab.gov.in.
2. Choose Check your Scheme Application Status and log in with your beneficiary registration number.
3. If you do not have an online registration number because you registered offline, generate it from the home page using your old registration number with your Aadhaar number or registered mobile number; the number is sent to you by SMS.

The portal also lets you download your ID card and registration card, and generate a challan for pending registration or renewal fees payable to the Punjab Construction Workers Welfare Board account, IFSC PUNB0324800.

Why do occupational disease claims get rejected in Punjab?

• The disease is not on the list. Tuberculosis, diabetes complications and ordinary orthopaedic surgery are common examples of claims filed under this head that do not qualify.
• Civil Surgeon verification is missing. Hospital bills alone, however detailed, do not satisfy the scheme's condition.
• BPSSBY cover was not exhausted first, where the worker holds a health card.
• Registration lapsed before the date of treatment because monthly contributions were not deposited.
• Dependency not proved when the patient is a family member, particularly for parents, where the scheme requires that they be solely dependent on the worker.
• Incomplete bills, self-attested photocopies or estimates instead of paid receipts.

Where a claim is rejected by the sub-divisional committee, ask the sanctioning officer for the recorded ground in writing. The Board's own rules for its pension scheme set out an appeal to the Secretary of the Board within 60 days of rejection, with delay up to one year condonable for satisfactory reasons and no rejection without a personal hearing; the same office is the point of escalation for other scheme grievances.

Where do you get help?

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

No agent is authorised to take a cut of a reimbursement. The money is credited by direct transfer to the registered beneficiary's own bank account.