BOCW Death Benefit Scheme (West Bengal)

What is the BOCW Death Benefit Scheme in West Bengal?

BOCW Death Benefit Scheme is the death-cover head of the welfare benefits that the West Bengal Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board provides to construction workers registered with it, and that the Labour Department now administers through the state's integrated social security scheme. The Board's own published list of welfare measures names "Death Benefit; Accidental and Normal Death Benefit" among the measures it provides to registered beneficiaries.

The West Bengal Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare 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. The Regional Labour Offices under the Labour Commissionerate function as the Board's regional offices, and Assistant Labour Commissioners and Inspectors posted at blocks and municipalities act as Beneficiary Registering Officers.

From 1 April 2017 the Labour Department merged the earlier occupation-wise welfare schemes for provident fund subscribers, construction workers and transport workers into Samajik Suraksha Yojana, 2017, so that a worker in one trade would not get a smaller benefit than a worker in another for the same misfortune. The scheme was renamed Bina Mulya Samajik Suraksha Yojana (BM-SSY) by Gazette Notification No. 1447 dated 7 October 2020, after the state decided from 1 April 2020 to pay the beneficiary's Rs 25 monthly provident fund subscription itself. Construction workers already enrolled with the Welfare Board continue to draw benefits under their own scheme as amended.

The death benefit is the largest single payout in the scheme. It exists because the sudden loss of an earning member leaves a construction worker's household without any cushion: there is no gratuity, no employer pension and, for most site workers, no Employees' Provident Fund cover.

Who is eligible for the BOCW death benefit?

A nominee can claim if:

• The deceased was a registered beneficiary, with the West Bengal Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board, or under Samajik Suraksha Yojana, or both.
• The deceased was a resident of West Bengal and was between 18 and 60 years of age at registration. The Samajik Mukti Card is valid up to age 60 or until cessation of membership, whichever is earlier.
• The claimant is the nominee recorded against that registration.
• The death occurred on or after 1 April 2017 for a claim under the Samajik Suraksha Yojana heads, since the rules require the cause of action to fall on or after that date.

Construction workers are treated differently from other unorganised workers on one important point. The Rs 6,500 per month family income ceiling that applies to unorganised workers generally does not apply to construction and transport workers; for them family income has no upper limit.

A nominee cannot apply, or is not eligible, if:

• The death was caused by intentional self-injury, suicide or attempted suicide, insanity or immorality.
• The worker was under the influence of intoxicating liquor, drugs or narcotics when the fatal incident occurred.
• The death resulted from riots, civil commotion or racing of any kind.
• The family is already in receipt of financial assistance of a similar nature from the Government for the same death.
• The worker's registration had been cancelled for fraud, false statements or suppression of facts. Cancellation forfeits all claims under the scheme, and any contributions made are forfeited to the Government.

How much does the BOCW death benefit pay?

The disability figures are listed here because the death and disability head is a single head in the rules and the same Form-V, the same time limit and the same sanctioning officer apply to both.

The Welfare Board's own published rate card, separate from the Samajik Suraksha Yojana figures, lists Rs 50,000 for natural death and Rs 1,50,000 for accidental death, alongside a monthly pension of Rs 750 for a beneficiary and Rs 375 as family pension. Where a family is entitled under more than one head, the office where the worker was registered will confirm which rate applies to that registration.

How to apply for the BOCW Death Benefit Scheme

1. Confirm the registration. Locate the deceased worker's Samajik Mukti Card, Social Security Identification Number or Identity Card-cum-Pass Book, and the Regional Labour Office or Labour Welfare Facilitation Centre where the registration was made. The claim must go to that office.
2. Obtain the death certificate from the Registrar of Birth and Death, and, where the worker died in hospital, an attested copy of the hospital's certificate regarding the death.
3. For an accidental death, collect the police papers. A copy of the FIR and the post-mortem report, and note the actual date, time and place of the accident. Where the accident happened in the course of employment, obtain a certificate to that effect.
4. Fill Form-V completely and sign it as nominee. Submit it in triplicate to the Registering Authority, along with a self-attested copy of the deceased's card and the nominee's bank passbook copy, within 3 months of the death.
5. Allow the verification to run. The Registering Authority may hold an enquiry in whatever manner it considers fit before recommending the claim, and forwards genuine claims to the Assistant Labour Commissioner.
6. Receive the payment. The Assistant Labour Commissioner sanctions the claim and transfers the amount to the nominee's bank account. Every claim is entered in the office Claim Register for Death and Disability and in an Excel record.

Registration of new workers, which is the step that makes any future death claim possible, can be done at the block, municipality or municipal corporation level, through enrolment camps, or online through the BM-SSY portal at bmssy.wblabour.gov.in. Form-I must be filled in completely across Parts I to IV — an incomplete form is summarily rejected without further correspondence, and a construction worker who wants the Welfare Board's additional benefits must also fill Part-V.

How to follow up on a death claim

West Bengal does not publish an online tracker for these claims, so the follow-up is done in person at two offices:

1. Return to the Registering Authority with your Form-V acknowledgement and the deceased's SSIN, and confirm the claim has been forwarded.
2. Ask the Assistant Labour Commissioner's office whether the claim has been sanctioned and on what date the transfer was made.
3. Check the nominee's bank passbook for the credit.

Why death claims get rejected, and how to fix them

• Claim filed after 3 months. This is the most common and the least recoverable reason. File as soon as the death certificate is in hand.
• No death certificate from the Registrar of Birth and Death. A hospital certificate alone is not a substitute; it is an additional document.
• Accidental death claimed without FIR or post-mortem report. Without those, the office can only process the claim at the natural-death rate of Rs 50,000 rather than Rs 2,00,000.
• Nominee not recorded against the registration, or a different person claiming. Nomination details should be kept updated during the worker's lifetime.
• Bank account details mismatched with the nominee's identity documents, which stalls the transfer at the Assistant Labour Commissioner stage.
• Similar assistance already drawn from another government scheme for the same death.

If the claim is rejected, apply for a review to the Assistant Labour Commissioner within 60 days. The Assistant Labour Commissioner must hear the applicant and pass a reasoned order. If that order does not satisfy you, appeal to the Deputy Labour Commissioner within 30 days; that decision is final and binding.

Key dates and where to complain

• 20 September 2005, the West Bengal Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board was constituted; it was reconstituted in September 2011.
• 3 April 2017; gazette notifications amended the West Bengal Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) rules to align them with Samajik Suraksha Yojana.
• 12 October 2017. The Samajik Suraksha Yojana (Rules and Regulations), 2017, which carry the Rs 2,00,000 and Rs 50,000 death figures, were republished.
• 7 October 2020, the scheme was renamed Bina Mulya Samajik Suraksha Yojana.

Grievances run through the Registering Authority, then the Assistant Labour Commissioner, then the Deputy Labour Commissioner of the area. The Labour Department has not published a dedicated toll-free helpline for BM-SSY death claims, so treat any number offered by a middleman with suspicion. Registration and claim filing are free.