Satyvadi Raja Harishchandra Marnotar Sahay Yojana (Antyeshti Sahay)

What is Satyvadi Raja Harishchandra Marnotar Sahay Yojana?

Satyvadi Raja Harishchandra Marnotar Sahay Yojana is a funeral-expenses grant run by the Social Justice and Empowerment Department, Government of Gujarat, through the office of the Director, Scheduled Caste Welfare. The scheme was launched in the year 2000 and is listed in the department's scheme register as BCK-62, "Satyavadi Raja Harishchandra Posthumous Assistance Scheme (Antyesthi Sahay)".

The name refers to the legend of King Harishchandra, who upheld truth while working at a cremation ground, and the scheme's purpose follows from it directly: a Scheduled Caste family should not have to borrow money to cremate or bury a family member. According to the Director of Scheduled Caste Welfare, the scheme provides Rs 5,000 as financial assistance at the time of death of a member of a Scheduled Caste family, to meet the requirement of antyeshti expenses.

Key features

• Rs 5,000 one-time grant per death, paid to one family member.
• Restricted to Scheduled Caste families of Gujarat.
• Death certificate driven. The certificate from the Talati-cum-Mantri or the municipal Chief Officer is the central document.
• Applied for online on the e-Samaj Kalyan portal.
• Expected to be filed within six months of the death.

Who is eligible for Satyvadi Raja Harishchandra Marnotar Sahay Yojana?

You can apply if:

• Both the deceased and the applicant belong to a Scheduled Caste notified for Gujarat.
• Both are natives and residents of Gujarat.
• The applicant is a family member of the deceased.
• The family's annual income is within the prescribed limit. The Director of Scheduled Caste Welfare records limits of Rs 47,000 in rural areas and Rs 68,000 in urban areas, alongside an overall ceiling of Rs 6,00,000. Because the department has revised income norms across its schemes at different times, confirm the figure your district office is currently applying before filing.
• The application is made within six months of the date of death.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• The deceased or the applicant does not belong to a Scheduled Caste.
• The family is not resident in Gujarat.
• The annual family income exceeds the prescribed ceiling.
• Another member of the same family has already applied for the same death. Only one application per deceased person is entertained.
• No death certificate from the competent authority can be produced.
• The death occurred well outside the six-month window and no explanation for the delay is accepted by the district office.

What documents are required?

The death certificate is the document the scheme rules single out. The Director of Scheduled Caste Welfare specifies that it must come from the Talati-cum-Mantri for a rural death and from the Chief Officer of the municipality for an urban death, so a hospital certificate on its own is not sufficient.

How to apply for Satyvadi Raja Harishchandra Marnotar Sahay Yojana

1. Obtain the death certificate from the Talati-cum-Mantri if the death occurred in a village, or from the Chief Officer of the municipality if it occurred in a town or city. Do this first, because nothing else can proceed without it.
2. Collect the caste and income certificates. The Scheduled Caste certificate comes from the competent revenue authority, and the annual family income certificate from the Taluka Development Officer in rural areas or the Mamlatdar in urban areas.
3. Register on the e-Samaj Kalyan portal at esamajkalyan.gujarat.gov.in using the citizen registration option. Enter the applicant's name, district, mobile number and email, and confirm the OTP.
4. Log in and open the scheme list of the Director, Scheduled Caste Welfare, then select Satyvadi Raja Harishchandra Marnotar Sahay Yojana (BCK-62).
5. Complete the four sections of the form — personal information, application details, document details, and the terms and conditions declaration.
6. Upload the scanned documents, keeping each within the size limit shown on the upload screen, and submit the application.
7. Save the acknowledgement and application number, then respond to any verification call from the district Scheduled Caste welfare office with the original documents in hand.

Applicants who cannot use the portal can approach the district Scheduled Caste welfare office or the Social Welfare Officer of the district panchayat, who accept and assist with the application. The Director's office is at Block 4, 2nd Floor, Dr Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Gandhinagar.

How much is paid, and how?

The scheme pays a flat Rs 5,000 per death. The amount is a fixed grant, not a reimbursement, so no bills or receipts for funeral expenses need to be produced. Payment is made by bank transfer to the applicant's account, which is why the passbook copy and a correctly seeded Aadhaar matter.

Only one grant is paid per deceased person. Where several relatives are living in the same household, the family should decide in advance who will apply, because duplicate applications for the same death are rejected and both may be delayed while the district office resolves the overlap.

How the six-month clock works in practice

The six-month window runs from the date of death, not from the date the death certificate is issued. That distinction matters, because registering a death and collecting the certificate from the Talati-cum-Mantri or the municipality can itself take several weeks in a rural taluka. Families should therefore start the registration on the same day the customary rites are completed, rather than waiting until the mourning period is over.

Two related practical points are worth knowing before filing. First, the Scheduled Caste certificate needed here is the standard one issued by the revenue authority, so a family that already holds a valid caste certificate for a scholarship or a housing scheme can use the same document and does not need a fresh one. Second, the income certificate has a limited validity period; an income certificate obtained years earlier for another purpose will usually be refused, and a current one should be applied for alongside the death certificate.

How to check the status of your application

1. Log in to esamajkalyan.gujarat.gov.in with your registered user ID.
2. Open "Your Application Status" from the citizen dashboard.
3. Enter the application number printed on your acknowledgement.
4. If the file remains pending for an extended period, contact the district Scheduled Caste welfare office or the Director, Scheduled Caste Welfare on 079-23253229.

Common reasons applications are rejected

• Death certificate from the wrong authority. A hospital or crematorium certificate does not replace the Talati-cum-Mantri or municipal certificate.
• Caste certificate missing or expired, or issued in another state.
• Income above the prescribed ceiling, as shown on the income certificate.
• Filed more than six months after the death without an accepted explanation.
• Duplicate application by a second family member for the same death.
• Bank details mismatched with the Aadhaar name, which holds up the transfer after sanction.
• Illegible uploads, the district office returns unreadable scans rather than rejecting them outright, so a resubmission usually fixes this.

Where to raise a grievance

• Director, Scheduled Caste Welfare, Gujarat: Block 4, 2nd Floor, Dr Jivraj Mehta Bhavan, Gandhinagar. Phone 079-23253229.
• District Social Welfare Officer of your district, for delays in verification and sanction.
• e-Samaj Kalyan portal support, for registration, login and upload problems.

There is no application fee. The grant is a state entitlement for eligible Scheduled Caste families and no payment to any agent is required or permitted at any stage.