BOCW Accidental Benefit Scheme (West Bengal)

What is the BOCW Accidental Benefit Scheme in West Bengal?

BOCW Accidental Benefit Scheme is the accident head of welfare benefits that the West Bengal Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board provides to construction workers registered with it. The Board was constituted in 2005 under sub-section (1) of Section 18 of the Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) Act, 1996, and was reconstituted in 2011. Section 22(1)(a) of that Act specifically helps the Board to provide immediate assistance to a beneficiary in case of accident, and the Board's own published list of welfare measures names "Accidental Benefit: Hospitalization and Disablement benefit" as its first item.

Since 1 April 2017 the accident benefit for construction workers in West Bengal is delivered through the state's integrated social security architecture. The Labour Department merged the earlier occupation-wise schemes. The State Assisted Scheme of Provident Fund for Unorganised Workers, the Welfare Scheme for Building and Other Construction Workers, and the Transport Workers Social Security Scheme; into Samajik Suraksha Yojana, 2017. From 1 April 2020 the state took over the beneficiary's own Rs 25 monthly provident fund subscription, and the scheme was renamed Bina Mulya Samajik Suraksha Yojana (BM-SSY) by Gazette Notification No. 1447 dated 7 October 2020. Bina Mulya means "free of cost", and that is the point of the renaming: an enrolled worker draws every benefit without paying anything.

Construction workers who were already enrolled with the Welfare Board continue to draw benefits under their own scheme as amended, and may register through the Board as well by filling Part-V of Form-I. In practice a registered construction worker in West Bengal has two accident-related routes open, the Board's own hospitalisation and disablement benefit, and the accident provisions of the Samajik Suraksha Yojana rules; administered by the same Labour Commissionerate officers.

Who is eligible for the BOCW accidental benefit?

You can claim if:

• You are a resident of West Bengal and work as a building or other construction worker.
• You are between 18 and 60 years of age. The Samajik Mukti Card issued to a beneficiary stays valid until the age of 60 or until membership ceases, whichever comes first.
• You are registered as a beneficiary, with the Welfare Board, or under Samajik Suraksha Yojana, or both.
• You were hospitalised for 5 days or more because of an accident, for the loss-of-employment payment; or you hold a Government hospital certificate stating the extent of disability, for the disability payment.
• The cause of action. The accident itself, occurred on or after 1 April 2017 for a claim under the Samajik Suraksha Yojana heads.

One point matters especially for construction workers: the income ceiling of Rs 6,500 per month family income that applies to other unorganised workers does not apply here. The rules say in terms that for construction and transport workers family income has no upper limit.

You cannot apply, or are not eligible, if:

• The injury or disablement was caused by intentional self-injury, suicide or attempted suicide, insanity or immorality.
• You were under the influence of intoxicating liquor, drugs or narcotics when the accident happened.
• The injury resulted from riots, civil commotion or racing of any kind.
• You are already receiving financial assistance of a similar nature from Government for the same event.
• Your registration has been cancelled for fraud, false statements or suppression of facts; cancellation forfeits all claims and any contributions.
• You are claiming the loss-of-employment payment for a family member. That payment is admissible only to the registered worker.

How much does the accident benefit pay?

The loss-of-employment payment for accident hospitalisation is calculated by days:

The disability payments under the Samajik Suraksha Yojana rules are fixed amounts:

Separately, the Welfare Board's own published rate card lists Rs 10,000 for assistance for accident treatment and Rs 50,000 for disablement. Medical costs arising from the accident, clinical tests, medicines and hospitalisation, are reimbursed in full against the annual ceiling of Rs 20,000, or Rs 60,000 where surgery is involved, but only at Government hospitals or empanelled hospitals and only at the package rates of the West Bengal Health Scheme, 2008. Every disability must be certified by a Government hospital.

How to apply for the BOCW Accidental Benefit Scheme

1. Register first. Fill Form-I in full, Parts I, II, III and IV, and submit it to the Registering Authority where you permanently reside. An incomplete Form-I is summarily rejected without any further correspondence. Attach a photocopy of the first page of your bank passbook, your EPIC voter card or Aadhaar card, and two recent passport-size colour photographs.
2. Fill Part-V of Form-I if you want the additional benefits available under the West Bengal Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board. This part is the evidence of your construction-worker status.
3. Collect your Samajik Mukti Card and Identity Card-cum-Pass Book. The card carries a unique Social Security Identification Number (SSIN) and works as your identity document at any Regional Labour Office or Labour Welfare Facilitation Centre in the state.
4. After the accident, gather the paperwork: hospital certificate showing dates of admission and release, discharge certificate, doctor's prescription, original bills, and the FIR and post-mortem or police report where the accident was reported to the police.
5. Submit Form-V in triplicate to the Registering Authority in the office where you are registered, within 3 months of the accident or of release from hospital, along with a self-attested copy of your Samajik Mukti Card or Identity Card-cum-Pass Book.
6. Wait for the sanction. The Registering Authority verifies your eligibility and the genuineness of the claim and forwards it with a recommendation to the Assistant Labour Commissioner within 15 days. The Assistant Labour Commissioner sanctions the payment and transfers it to your bank account.

Registration can be done at the block, municipality or municipal corporation level, and through special enrolment camps organised from time to time. Registration is also available online through the BM-SSY portal at bmssy.wblabour.gov.in, which reported more than 1.19 crore beneficiaries at the time of checking.

How to check the status of an accident claim

West Bengal does not publish a self-service claim tracker for this benefit. The practical route is the paper trail:

1. Keep the acknowledgement of the Form-V you submitted, along with your SSIN.
2. Ask the Registering Authority whether the claim has been forwarded to the Assistant Labour Commissioner. The rules give the Registering Authority 15 days for this step, so a claim still sitting there after a fortnight is worth a follow-up.
3. Ask the Assistant Labour Commissioner's office whether the claim has been sanctioned. Every claim is required to be entered in a Claim Register and in an office computer record in Excel format, so the office can trace it.
4. Check your bank passbook. Sanctioned amounts are credited directly to the beneficiary's account.

Why accident claims get rejected, and what to do

• Fewer than 5 days in hospital. The loss-of-employment payment simply does not arise below that threshold.
• Treatment taken at a hospital that is neither a Government hospital nor an empanelled one. Claims are admissible only for expenses at those hospitals and only at West Bengal Health Scheme, 2008 package rates.
• Claim filed late. Three months from the accident or from hospital release is the outer limit for the accident and disability head.
• Missing disability percentage. A disability claim needs a Government hospital certificate that states the extent of disability, not merely that an injury occurred.
• No original bills. Photocopies of expenditure documents do not satisfy the requirement; originals plus a verified expenditure statement are needed.
• Incomplete Form-I at registration stage, which invalidates everything that follows.

If the Registering Authority rejects your application or cancels your registration, you have a defined appeal route. Apply for a review to the Assistant Labour Commissioner of your area within 60 days. The Assistant Labour Commissioner must hear you and pass a reasoned order. If you are not satisfied, appeal to the Deputy Labour Commissioner of the area within 30 days of that order. The Deputy Labour Commissioner's decision is final and binding.

Key dates and grievance route

• 1 April 2017, Samajik Suraksha Yojana came into force; claims must have a cause of action on or after this date.
• 12 October 2017, the Samajik Suraksha Yojana (Rules and Regulations), 2017 were republished by Gazette Notification No. 698, and these rules govern the accident, death and disability claims described above.
• 1 April 2020, the state began paying the Rs 25 monthly subscription on behalf of beneficiaries.
• 7 October 2020; Gazette Notification No. 1447 renamed the scheme Bina Mulya Samajik Suraksha Yojana.

For grievances, approach the Registering Authority first, then the Assistant Labour Commissioner of your area, and then the Deputy Labour Commissioner. The West Bengal Labour Department has not published a dedicated toll-free helpline for BM-SSY accident claims, so avoid any number circulated by agents. There is no fee for registration or for filing a claim.