A summary of key issues in accessing schemes

Workers in construction and related work face a number of challenges in accessing welfare entitlements and these are summarised on this page.

ATTENTION: Field coordinators should note that BoCW schemes do not have any components that address social deprivations except scholarships for children. There are no separate provisions or additional benefits for SCs, STs, OBCs or minorities.

Exclusions owing to policy design

1. Not everyone employed in a construction firm is covered. Certain job profiles within the sector are not covered. Some of these profiles include gardeners and parking area employees.
2. Some components are available based on domicile in state such as marriage allowance. 
3. Digital exclusion: those without smartphones (or any phone at all)
4. Against the backdrop that the BoCW schemes do not have an underlying SC/ST component, schemes for the upliftment of SC/ST communities managed by the SC/ST Corporation are primarily for locals, leading to exclusion of SC/ST migrants.

SCHEME AWARENESS/ KNOWLEDGE related challenges

1. Awareness of schemes that can be availed under BOCW is limited: workers lack awareness of available schemes, in some cases even after having spent 20 years in this occupation.

SUPPORTING DOCUMENTATION related challenges

1. Documentation related gaps: unavailability of supporting documents or issues with supporting documents such as Aadhaar card discrepancies, name/age mismatches, absence of bank passbooks, and challenges in Aadhaar seeding for bank accounts.

TECHNOLOGY/ PROCESS related challenges

1. Systemic problems: the Seva Sindhu portal experiences periodic slowdowns, and there are limitations on document upload size, often restricted to around 2 megabytes.
2. Resource constraints: lack of personal smartphones or having to share them, coupled with difficulties in remembering login details.
3. Scheme components such as pensions falling under the Revenue Department are more difficult to obtain whereas basic health, accident, and other entitlements under the jurisdiction of the Labor Department are much easier to obtain procedurally.
   
4. Scholarship documentation: tight timelines and documentation challenges for scholarships requiring income and caste certificates. While income certificates are valid for 5 years, caste certificates remain valid for life. However, individuals often discover that their income certificates have expired when applying for scholarships, resulting in missed deadlines.

BEHAVIOURAL challenges

1. Trust concerns: many CSOs in the ecosystem charge fees to help with the application process. Another channel is cyber cafes that charge exorbitant amounts to get work done. There is general hesitancy in sharing documents since many times CSOs are unable to get the work done despite taking money and all documents. There are also security/ identity theft related concerns.