Scheme of Death Benefit for Weavers and Artisans of West Bengal

What is the Death Benefit Scheme for weavers and artisans of West Bengal?

Scheme of Death Benefit for Weavers and Artisans of West Bengal is a one-time compensation paid by the Micro, Small and Medium Enterprise and Textiles Department to the family of a handloom weaver or a traditional artisan who dies during working age. The scheme was notified on 7 March 2024, alongside the West Bengal Artisans Financial Benefit Scheme, 2024 and the West Bengal Handloom and Khadi Weavers Financial Benefit Scheme, 2024, and it runs for five years from that date.

According to the department's notification, the benefit is Rs 2 lakh, one time, per deceased artisan or weaver, paid to the next of kin.

The reasoning behind the scheme is practical. Handloom weaving and craft work in West Bengal are almost entirely unorganised. A weaver in Santipur or Dhaniakhali, or a clay-doll maker in Krishnanagar, is usually a self-employed household worker with no employer, no provident fund, no gratuity and often no life insurance. When that person dies in working age, the household loses its only earner and has no formal claim anywhere. The death benefit fills that gap with a single, defined payment.

What makes this scheme different from a pension

• Death Benefit pays once, not monthly.
• The benefit goes to the survivor, not to the worker.
• The claim window is short to 3 months from the date of death.
• The age at death, not the age of the claimant, decides eligibility.

Who is eligible for the weavers and artisans death benefit?

A claim can be made if:

• The deceased was a handloom weaver or an artisan of West Bengal.
• The deceased was aged between 18 and 60 years at the time of death. Age is computed from the date of birth recorded on a birth registration certificate, voter identity card (EPIC), driving licence, passport, Aadhaar card or another approved government photo identity.
• The death occurred on or after 7 March 2024, the notification date of the scheme.
• The claimant is the next of kin or legal claimant of the deceased.
• The claimant obtains an eligibility certificate from the local Block Development Officer confirming the deceased's status as a weaver or artisan.

A claim is not eligible if:

• The deceased was below 18 or had attained 60 years at the time of death.
• The death occurred before 7 March 2024, since the scheme has no retrospective effect.
• The family has already availed another death benefit scheme of the state government for the same death. Only one such benefit is payable, and the claimant must declare this in writing.
• The deceased was not a weaver or artisan, and the BDO therefore declines to issue the eligibility certificate.
• The claim is filed more than 3 months after the death.

What documents are required?

Take the originals to the BDO office with one self-attested photocopy of each. The death certificate and the age proof are the two documents on which the whole claim turns, so get certified copies made before submitting.

How to apply for the death benefit

1. Register the death and obtain the death certificate from the panchayat, municipality or corporation registering authority. Nothing can be filed without it.
2. Collect Form No. 1, the prescribed application form under the scheme, from the Block Development Officer's office or the district handloom or industries office.
3. Apply to the Block Development Officer for the eligibility certificate confirming that the deceased was a weaver or an artisan. Carry the deceased's portal enrolment record, loom or workshop details and any craft identity papers to support this.
4. Fill in Form No. 1 with the deceased's name, date of birth, date of death, craft or weaving occupation, and the claimant's own details including relationship to the deceased and bank account particulars.
5. Attach the supporting papers — death certificate, age proof, BDO eligibility certificate, proof of relationship, the self-declaration that no other state death benefit has been claimed, and the claimant's bank passbook copy.
6. Submit the completed claim within 3 months of the date of death to the Block Development Officer of your block, or to the Sub-Divisional Officer if you live in a municipal area. Take a dated acknowledgement.
7. Follow the file through verification. The District Industries Centre verifies the claim, the Directorate of MSME approves artisan cases and the Directorate of Textiles or Handloom approves weaver cases, and the Department of MSME and Textiles issues the final sanction order.

How the claim is verified and sanctioned

The route is fixed and worth knowing, because families often chase the wrong office.

1. Block Development Officer or Sub-Divisional Officer receives the claim and issues the eligibility certificate.
2. District Industries Centre verifies the application and the supporting papers.
3. Directorate of MSME approves the case where the deceased was an artisan; the Directorate of Textiles or Handloom approves it where the deceased was a handloom weaver.
4. Department of MSME and Textiles issues the final sanction order, after which the Rs 2 lakh is released to the claimant's bank account.

Ask the BDO office for the date the file was forwarded to the District Industries Centre, and then follow up with the DIC. That is where a stalled claim usually sits.

Why death benefit claims get rejected

• Filed after the 3-month window. This is the commonest failure and it is not curable by argument, so file within the window even with an incomplete set of papers and supply the rest afterwards.
• Age at death outside 18 to 60 years, or conflicting dates of birth across the Aadhaar, the EPIC and the death certificate.
• Death before 7 March 2024, which falls outside the scheme's period.
• No BDO eligibility certificate, because the deceased's work as a weaver or artisan could not be established.
• Another state death benefit already claimed for the same death, caught during verification of the self-declaration.
• Claimant not established as next of kin, for example where several relatives file competing claims without a legal heir certificate.
• Bank account details wrong or an account not in the claimant's own name.

Where the age proof documents disagree, the scheme allows the date of birth recorded on a birth registration certificate, voter identity card, driving licence, passport, Aadhaar card or an approved government photo identity to be used. Produce the document that is consistent with the school or family record, and be ready to explain the difference.

Where to raise a grievance

• Block Development Officer or Sub-Divisional Officer who received the claim. The first point of contact for delay in the eligibility certificate.
• General Manager, District Industries Centre, for delay after the file has been forwarded for verification.
• Directorate of MSME for artisan cases and the Directorate of Textiles at handloom.wb.gov.in for weaver cases.
• Department of MSME and Textiles, Government of West Bengal, which issues the final sanction order.
• Bangla Sahayata Kendra counters at bsk.wb.gov.in for free help with filling the form and assembling documents.

There is no fee to file a death benefit claim. The Rs 2 lakh is credited directly to the claimant's bank account, and no agent should be paid to move the file.