Financial Assistance After Death (UKBOCWWB) - Uttarakhand

What is the UKBOCWWB Financial Assistance After Death scheme?

Financial Assistance After Death is a welfare benefit of the Uttarakhand Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (UKBOCWWB), which functions under the Labour Department of the Government of Uttarakhand. The Board was constituted under the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, and it runs its welfare schemes from the labour cess collected from construction projects in the state, not from a general budget grant.

According to the Board's own scheme detail page, the benefit has two rates. Where a registered construction worker dies in an accident during employment, the Board pays Rs 4,00,000 to the worker's nominees or dependants. Where the worker dies a normal death, the Board pays Rs 2,00,000. On top of either amount, a separate Rs 10,000 funeral assistance is payable towards the cost of the last rites, subject to the conditions specified by the Board.

The scheme is often referred to locally as the mrityu evam antyeshti sahayata yojana: death and funeral assistance scheme, and it appears under that name in the Board's Hindi scheme listing alongside the accident assistance scheme, the pension scheme, the housing assistance scheme and the disability pension.

Key points

• Death assistance of Rs 2,00,000 (normal death) or Rs 4,00,000 (accidental death during employment).
• Funeral assistance of Rs 10,000 as a separate head.
• Paid to the nominee or dependant, not to the estate generally.
• Claim window of 2 months from the date of death.
• Applies to workers registered under the BOCW Act, 1996 with the Uttarakhand Board, and to construction workers employed under MGNREGA.

Who is eligible for the death assistance?

The claim can be made if:

• The deceased was a registered construction worker with UKBOCWWB under the provisions of the Building and Other Construction Workers Act, 1996, or a construction worker employed under MGNREGA covered by the Board's schemes.
• The registration was live on the date of death, that is, it had been renewed and had not lapsed.
• The claimant is the nominee recorded on the worker's registration, or a dependant able to establish that status.
• The claim is filed within 2 months of the date of death.

The claim cannot be made / is not eligible where:

• The deceased was never registered with the Board. The fund is built from labour cess and is reserved for registered beneficiaries, so an unregistered mason, carpenter, painter or helper leaves no claim behind.
• The registration had lapsed and was not renewed before death. This is the single most common reason Uttarakhand construction-worker families lose the benefit, because renewal is a periodic requirement and not automatic.
• The claimant cannot establish nomination or dependency, and no legal-heir or succession certificate is produced.
• The 2-month window has closed without a claim being filed through the Labour Enforcement Officer or Registration Officer.

The higher Rs 4,00,000 rate is specifically for death in an accident during employment. A death caused by illness, or an accident unconnected with the worker's employment, falls under the normal-death head of Rs 2,00,000.

What documents are required?

The Board publishes a downloadable death-claim declaration form in the Downloads section of ukbocw.uk.gov.in, alongside separate forms for labour registration, renewal, financial assistance and receipt of tool-kit material.

How to apply for UKBOCWWB death assistance

1. Collect the death certificate of the registered construction worker from the registrar of births and deaths or the treating hospital, and note the date of death, the whole claim must be filed within 2 months of it.
2. Download the death-claim declaration form from the Downloads menu on ukbocw.uk.gov.in, or collect it from the Labour Enforcement Officer of your area.
3. Fill the form with the deceased worker's registration number, the cause of death, and the nominee's own details including bank account number and IFSC.
4. Attach the supporting documents — death certificate, the worker's labour registration card, nomination or legal-heir proof, the claimant's identity proof, bank passbook copy, and for an accidental death, the post-mortem report or FIR.
5. Submit the complete claim through the Labour Enforcement Officer or the Registration Officer of the area, who forwards it with a recommendation to the Secretary, Uttarakhand Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board, third floor, GMVN Building, Rajpur Road, Dehradun 248001.
6. Keep the acknowledgement and follow up with the same Labour Enforcement Officer, quoting the deceased worker's registration number.

There is no self-service online claim for this benefit. The Board's route runs through the field officer, which is deliberate, the officer verifies the registration status and the nomination before the file moves.

How to check the status of a death claim

UKBOCWWB does not publish a public claim-tracking page for death assistance. The practical route is to go back to the officer who forwarded the file:

1. Contact the Labour Enforcement Officer / Registration Officer who accepted the claim, with the deceased worker's registration number and the date of submission.
2. If there is no movement, call the Board's toll-free number 1800 2127 174 or write to the published email, ukbocw[at]gmail[dot]com.
3. As a last step, take the matter to the Secretary, UKBOCWWB at the Dehradun office address, or raise it on the Uttarakhand state grievance portal.

Why death claims get rejected, and how to avoid it

• Registration lapsed before death. Renew the labour registration on time. The renewal form is on the Board's Downloads page. A lapsed card is fatal to the claim.
• Claim filed after 2 months. The Board's own scheme text makes the 2-month window compulsory for this benefit and for the funeral assistance. File immediately, even with a partial document set, and complete the file later.
• No nomination on record. Workers should record a nominee at the time of registration. Where none exists, the family must produce a legal-heir or succession certificate, which itself takes weeks.
• Accident claimed without proof. To get Rs 4,00,000 rather than Rs 2,00,000, the file must show the death was an accident during employment, normally through an FIR or post-mortem report.
• Wrong bank details. The payment is made to the nominee's account, so a mismatched name or a closed account stalls the transfer.

Other UKBOCWWB benefits the family may still claim

The Board runs a linked set of benefits, and a bereaved family often qualifies for more than one:

• Old-age pension of Rs 1,000 a month from age 60 and Rs 1,500 a month from age 65, with a family pension of Rs 500 a month to the surviving spouse after a pensioner's death. Pension is released on a six-monthly basis against a life certificate attested by a gazetted officer.
• Disability pension of Rs 1,000 a month plus an ex-gratia amount of up to Rs 40,000 for permanent disability caused by paralysis, leprosy or an accident, claimed within 2 months of the CMO/CMS disability certificate.
• Education assistance for the worker's children; Rs 1,800 a year for classes 1 to 5, Rs 2,400 a year for classes 6 to 10, Rs 3,000 a year for classes 11 and 12, and Rs 10,000 a year for a graduate or post-graduate degree.
• Housing advance of up to Rs 50,000 for purchase or construction of a house, for members of at least five years' standing, carrying interest of at least 5% a year.

Help and grievance redressal

• UKBOCWWB toll-free number: 1800 2127 174
• Email: ukbocw[at]gmail[dot]com
• Office: Third floor, GMVN Building, Rajpur Road, Dehradun 248001
• Field contact: the Labour Enforcement Officer or Registration Officer of your block or district

No fee is charged for filing a death claim with the Board, and no agent is authorised to collect money for "getting the claim passed". If someone asks for a commission on the Rs 2,00,000 or Rs 4,00,000 payment, report it to the Secretary of the Board.