How a labourer's identity impacts access to welfare schemes in Rajasthan

While Bamaniya's self-identifying mazdoors believed that they were legally entitled to certain benefits, this turned out to be a misunderstanding propagated by unofficial agents

In Salumbar block, outside Udaipur, a “mazdoor diary” or “shramik card” can help you access Rs 8,000 per year for your child’s education, Rs 55,000 to support your daughter’s enterprise or marriage and up to Rs 1.5 lakh to build a pakka house. The diary, colloquially named, is the identity document to access the welfare schemes of Rajasthan’s Building and Other Construction Workers’ (BOCW) Welfare Board.

However, a recent Supreme Court ordered social audit of the BOCW Board revealed that nearly 40% of the 1,474 interviewed registered beneficiaries in Salumbar are ineligible for this welfare. The unofficial name of BOCW’s identity