Bicycle/Sewing Machine Assistance Scheme (UKBOCWWB)

What is the Bicycle/Sewing Machine Assistance Scheme?

The Bicycle/Sewing Machine Assistance Scheme is a welfare benefit implemented by the Uttarakhand Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (UKBOCWWB) under the Labour Department, Government of Uttarakhand. The scheme hands a registered construction worker a productive asset free of cost: a bicycle if the worker is in a plain area, a sewing machine if the worker or a dependent is in a mountainous or hilly area.

The split is deliberate and geographic. In the plains of Uttarakhand, Haridwar, Udham Singh Nagar and the plain belts of Dehradun and Nainital, a construction worker's daily problem is getting to a site several kilometres away, and a bicycle removes a recurring fare from a daily wage. In the hill districts a bicycle is close to useless on gradients, so the Board substitutes a sewing machine, which gives the worker's household a second income stream that does not depend on the construction season.

Key facts

• The benefit is in kind, not cash, the Board supplies the item.
• It is a once-in-a-lifetime benefit per registered worker.
• The item is free of cost, funded from the construction cess the Board collects.
• Delivery follows a departmental investigation verifying the claim.

Who is eligible for the Bicycle/Sewing Machine Assistance Scheme?

You can apply if:

• You are a construction worker registered with the Uttarakhand Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, with an active membership.
• You are a dependent of such a registered worker: dependents are expressly covered for the sewing machine benefit in hilly areas.
• You have not previously received a bicycle or a sewing machine from the Board, since the benefit is once in a lifetime.

You cannot apply / are not eligible if:

• You are not registered with UKBOCWWB, or your Shramik card has lapsed and the annual contribution has not been paid.
• You have already taken the bicycle or the sewing machine once. A repeat claim is rejected.
• You are registered with a construction workers' board of another state rather than Uttarakhand.
• You cannot furnish the self-declaration certificate the Board requires with the form.

Note that the scheme does not let a worker choose between the two items. Area decides the item. A worker in a plain district receives a bicycle; a worker or dependent in a hill district receives a sewing machine.

Who counts as a registered construction worker?

Registration with UKBOCWWB is the gate to this and every other Board benefit, so it is worth being clear about what it means. Under the Building and Other Construction Workers Act framework that the Board administers, a construction worker registers with the Board on the basis of age between 18 and 60 years, residence in Uttarakhand, and having worked as a construction worker for at least 90 days in the preceding year. Masons, carpenters, bar-benders, painters, plumbers, electricians on building sites, helpers and beldars all fall within the definition.

Once registered, the worker is issued a Shramik card and must keep the membership live by paying the annual contribution. A card that has lapsed is treated as no registration at all when a claim is examined, which is why a large share of rejected bicycle and sewing-machine claims are really lapsed-registration cases rather than genuine ineligibility. Renewing the card costs a fraction of the value of the benefit being claimed.

What documents are required?

The Board's application checklist for this scheme is short by design. A self-attested photocopy of the Shramik Card, the Aadhaar Card, and a self-declaration certificate are what must accompany the form. Everything else is verification the department does at its end.

How to apply for a bicycle or sewing machine

1. Register with UKBOCWWB first, or renew your registration. Register at ukbocw.uk.gov.in or at your District Labour Office, and clear any pending annual contribution so that your Shramik card is active on the date of the claim.
2. Visit a Shramik Suvidha Kendra. The online application for this scheme is made through Shramik Suvidha Kendras, which are the Board's assisted-service counters.
3. Submit the application form together with a self-attested photocopy of the Shramik Card, a self-attested photocopy of the Aadhaar Card, and the self-declaration certificate.
4. Collect the acknowledgement carrying your application reference number, and keep it safe — it is what the office uses to trace your file.
5. Cooperate with the departmental investigation. The department verifies your registration status and confirms that you have not taken the benefit before.
6. Receive the item. After verification, the department provides the bicycle or the sewing machine to the construction worker.

How do I check my claim status?

Track a claim through the Shramik Suvidha Kendra where it was filed, quoting the application reference on your acknowledgement, or at your District Labour Office. Registration status and benefit history against a Shramik card can also be checked on ukbocw.uk.gov.in using the registration or mobile number. The Uttarakhand Citizen Call Centre, 155300, is the state's published number for reaching the correct district office.

Because delivery of a physical item depends on the Board's procurement cycle in that district, a verified claim can still take time before the bicycle or machine is actually handed over. Following up with the acknowledgement number at the District Labour Office is more productive than filing a second application, which would in any case be flagged as a duplicate.

Common reasons a claim is rejected, and how to fix them

• Membership lapsed, renew the Shramik card and pay the pending annual contribution before you claim. Almost every UKBOCWWB benefit runs on active registration.
• Registration too recent. A claim filed immediately after registration can be held back until the Board's qualifying period is complete. Wait it out and refile.
• Item already taken once. The benefit is once in a lifetime; the departmental investigation checks the Board's records against your registration number.
• Self-declaration certificate missing. The form is incomplete without it and will not move past the counter.
• Name or Aadhaar mismatch between the Shramik card and the Aadhaar card. Get the Board's record corrected at the District Labour Office rather than refiling with the same mismatch.
• Wrong item claimed for your area. A hill-district applicant asking for a bicycle, or a plains applicant asking for a sewing machine, will be redirected to the correct item.

How this fits with the Board's other benefits

The Bicycle/Sewing Machine Assistance Scheme is one item in the UKBOCWWB's wider set of cess-funded welfare benefits. A worker who qualifies for this one is usually eligible at the same time for a toolkit, education assistance for two children, maternity and medical support, marriage assistance for a daughter, housing assistance and an old-age pension. One registration unlocks the whole set, which is why keeping the Shramik card renewed matters far more than any single claim.

Grievance and contact route

For a delayed or rejected claim, approach your District Labour Office first and then the UKBOCWWB office at the GMVN Building, Rajpur Road, Dehradun 248001. Keep the acknowledgement slip and your Shramik card number ready when you follow up.

The bicycle and the sewing machine are supplied free of cost. No agent, contractor or middleman can lawfully charge you money to register you with the Board, to file this claim, or to release the item.