BOCW Funeral Expenses Assistance (West Bengal)

What is BOCW Funeral Expenses Assistance in West Bengal?

BOCW Funeral Expenses Assistance is one of the welfare measures that the West Bengal Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board provides to construction workers registered with it. The Board publishes a list of fifteen welfare measures for registered beneficiaries, and funeral expenses appears as item (h) on that list, between financial assistance for education and the one-time reimbursement of up to Rs 2,000 for purchasing tools.

The Board itself 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 of that Act sets out the Board's functions, which include providing immediate assistance in case of accident, paying pension after the age of sixty, paying maternity benefit to female beneficiaries, and making provision for such other welfare measures as may be prescribed. Funeral expenses fall in that last category.

Since 1 April 2017 construction workers in West Bengal have been covered by Samajik Suraksha Yojana, 2017, which merged the earlier occupation-wise welfare schemes so that a construction worker, a transport worker and a general unorganised worker would receive the same benefit for the same event. From 1 April 2020 the state took over the Rs 25 monthly provident fund subscription that beneficiaries used to pay, and the scheme was renamed Bina Mulya Samajik Suraksha Yojana (BM-SSY) by Gazette Notification No. 1447 dated 7 October 2020. Construction workers already enrolled with the Welfare Board continue to draw benefits under their own scheme as amended.

An important caution on the amount. The Labour Department's published rate card for the Welfare Board lists figures for accident treatment (Rs 10,000), disablement (Rs 50,000), monthly pension (Rs 750 for the beneficiary, Rs 375 for the family), natural death (Rs 50,000) and accidental death (Rs 1,50,000), but does not publish a rate against funeral expenses. Several unofficial scheme directories quote a figure. Because that figure cannot be confirmed on a West Bengal government source, this guide does not repeat it. Ask the Regional Labour Office where the worker was registered for the rate currently sanctioned.

Who is eligible for funeral expenses assistance?

A family can claim if:

• The deceased was a registered building or other construction worker in West Bengal, enrolled with the Welfare Board or under Samajik Suraksha Yojana.
• The deceased was a resident of West Bengal, registered between the ages of 18 and 60. The Samajik Mukti Card remains valid up to the age of 60 or until membership ceases, whichever is earlier.
• The claimant is the nominee recorded against that registration, or a family member who can establish the relationship.
• The death occurred on or after 1 April 2017 for claims processed under the Samajik Suraksha Yojana heads, since the rules require the cause of action to fall on or after that date.

Construction workers are exempt from the income test that applies to other unorganised workers. The Rs 6,500 per month family income ceiling in the rules does not apply to construction and transport workers; for them family income has no upper limit.

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

• The worker was never registered with the Welfare Board or under Samajik Suraksha Yojana. Registration during the worker's lifetime is the single precondition for every benefit here.
• The worker's registration was cancelled for fraud, false statements or suppression of facts. Cancellation forfeits all claims and any contributions made are forfeited to the Government.
• The family is already receiving financial assistance of a similar nature from the Government for the same death.

How to apply for BOCW funeral expenses assistance

1. Identify the office of registration. The claim must go to the Registering Authority in the office where the worker was registered, usually the Regional Labour Office, or the Labour Welfare Facilitation Centre at the block or municipality. Carry the deceased's Samajik Mukti Card, Social Security Identification Number or Identity Card-cum-Pass Book.
2. Obtain the death certificate from the Registrar of Birth and Death, and, if the worker died in hospital, an attested copy of the hospital's certificate regarding the death. For an accidental death, also collect a copy of the FIR and the post-mortem report.
3. Fill Form-V, the prescribed claim form, completely and sign it. Submit it in triplicate to the Registering Authority together with a self-attested copy of the deceased's card and the claimant's bank passbook copy. File the death benefit claim in the same visit. The same documents support both.
4. Ask the office to record the funeral expenses head separately on the claim, and take an acknowledgement showing both heads.
5. Allow verification. The Registering Authority may hold an enquiry in whatever manner it considers fit, then forwards genuine claims with a recommendation to the Assistant Labour Commissioner, who sanctions the payment and transfers it to the claimant's bank account.

Registration of new workers, which makes any of this possible, is done at the block, municipality or municipal corporation level, at enrolment camps, or online 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. A construction worker who wants the Welfare Board's additional benefits must also fill Part-V of Form-I, which is the evidence of construction-worker status.

How to follow up on a funeral expenses claim

West Bengal does not publish an online claim tracker for these welfare measures, so follow-up is done in person:

1. Return to the Registering Authority with your acknowledgement and the deceased's SSIN and ask whether the claim has been forwarded.
2. Ask the Assistant Labour Commissioner's office whether the claim has been sanctioned. Claims are entered in a Claim Register and in an office computer record, so the file can be traced by name and registration number.
3. Check the claimant's bank passbook for the credit.

Why funeral expense claims stall, and what to do

• The worker's registration had lapsed or was never completed because Form-I was submitted incomplete.
• No death certificate from the Registrar of Birth and Death. A hospital certificate is an additional document, not a replacement.
• The claimant is not the recorded nominee, and no proof of relationship has been produced.
• The claim was made long after the death, past the 3-month window that governs the linked death claim.
• Bank details do not match the claimant's identity documents, which stalls the transfer at the sanction stage.
• The office has no current sanctioned rate on record for the funeral head, in which case ask for the position in writing so that it can be taken up on review.

If the claim is refused, the rules give a defined route. Apply for a review to the Assistant Labour Commissioner within 60 days of the refusal; the Assistant Labour Commissioner must hear the applicant and pass a reasoned order. If that does not satisfy you, appeal to the Deputy Labour Commissioner within 30 days of the order. The Deputy Labour Commissioner's decision is final and binding.

Key dates and grievance route

• 20 September 2005 — the West Bengal Building and Other Construction Workers' Welfare Board was constituted; reconstituted in September 2011.
• 3 April 2017. The West Bengal Building and Other Construction Workers (Regulation of Employment and Conditions of Service) rules were amended to align with Samajik Suraksha Yojana.
• 12 October 2017, the Samajik Suraksha Yojana (Rules and Regulations), 2017 were republished by Gazette Notification No. 698.
• 7 October 2020, the scheme was renamed Bina Mulya Samajik Suraksha Yojana.

Grievances go to the Registering Authority first, then the Assistant Labour Commissioner and then the Deputy Labour Commissioner of the area. The Labour Department has not published a dedicated toll-free helpline for BM-SSY claims, so do not rely on numbers circulated by agents. Registration and claim filing are free, and since 1 April 2020 even the monthly provident fund subscription is paid by the state.