Sanitary Napkin Scheme (UKBOCWWB)

What is the Sanitary Napkin Scheme of UKBOCWWB?

Sanitary Napkin Scheme is a welfare benefit of the Uttarakhand Building and Other Construction Workers Welfare Board (UKBOCWWB), which operates under the Labour Department, Government of Uttarakhand. The scheme distributes free sanitary napkins to women registered as construction workers and to the daughters of registered construction workers, so that menstrual hygiene does not become a cost or a barrier for women in construction-worker households.

According to the myScheme listing, the scheme targets female beneficiaries in roughly the 9 to 60 age band, which means both school-going daughters and adult women workers are covered. The Board funds the benefit from the construction cess it collects from building projects across the state, and the napkins are handed out free of cost.

The Board delivers the benefit both through its offices and through distribution drives. In February 2024, for example, the Uttarakhand government distributed sanitary napkins along with blankets to construction workers across all districts of the state, a concrete example of how the in-kind benefit reaches beneficiaries. In these camps the government reported distributing about 15,000 sanitary napkins to registered construction workers across the districts.

The sanitary napkin benefit is one of a wider set of UKBOCWWB welfare measures for construction-worker families. In 2026 the Uttarakhand Chief Minister launched further welfare schemes for registered construction workers, including a nutrition scheme, an education-material scheme and a sanitation-material distribution programme, alongside existing help for children's education and maternity and nutrition support for women workers. The sanitary napkin scheme sits inside this family of cess-funded welfare benefits, so a woman collecting napkins is often eligible for several other Board benefits at the same time; worth asking about at the District Labour Office.

Who is eligible for the Sanitary Napkin Scheme?

You can get the benefit if:

• You are a woman registered as a construction worker with UKBOCWWB, with an active membership; or
• You are the daughter of a registered construction worker of the Board.
• You are a female resident of Uttarakhand in the covered age band (roughly 9 to 60).

You cannot get it / are not eligible if:

• Neither you nor your parent is registered with UKBOCWWB, or the registration has lapsed.
• The family's registration is with another state's construction workers' board.
• You fall outside the covered age band for the benefit.

Registration is the route in. The napkins reach a woman either because she is a registered worker herself or because she is the daughter of one, so keeping the family's labour card active matters.

How much is the benefit?

The benefit is sanitary napkins in kind, free of cost. There is no cash transfer and no charge to the beneficiary. The quantity distributed and the frequency depend on the Board's drives and district arrangements, so ask your District Labour Office about the current distribution cycle. Because it is an in-kind welfare benefit, there is no bank-account requirement for the napkins themselves.

The scheme is funded entirely from the construction cess. A levy of 1 percent that the Board collects on the cost of construction of building projects across Uttarakhand. This is money set aside specifically for the welfare of construction workers, which is why no fee can be charged for the napkins and why the benefit is limited to registered workers and their families rather than the general public.

How does a woman become a registered construction worker?

Because the benefit flows through registration, it helps to know how a woman worker registers with UKBOCWWB in her own right:

• She must be engaged in building or other construction work and be aged between 18 and 60.
• She must have worked at least 90 days as a construction worker in the preceding year.
• She registers at ukbocw.uk.gov.in or the District Labour Office with Aadhaar, a photograph, proof of construction work and residence proof, and pays a small registration fee and annual contribution.

Once registered, she holds a labour card that unlocks the sanitary napkin benefit and the Board's other welfare schemes. A daughter does not register separately: she draws the benefit through her parent's active card.

What documents are required?

How to apply for the Sanitary Napkin Scheme

1. Ensure UKBOCWWB registration. Either the woman registers as a construction worker at ukbocw.uk.gov.in or the District Labour Office, or she relies on a parent's active registration if she is a daughter of a registered worker.
2. Keep the labour card active by renewing it and paying the annual contribution, so the family stays eligible for Board benefits.
3. Attend the distribution drive or visit the District Labour Office with the labour card and the beneficiary's Aadhaar. Where a daughter is the beneficiary, carry the parent's registration card and, if asked, the daughter's birth certificate.
4. Collect the free sanitary napkins and keep any acknowledgement the Board provides.

How do I find out when napkins are distributed?

Distribution is organised by the Board and District Labour Offices, often as part of broader welfare drives such as the February 2024 statewide distribution. Check the ukbocw.uk.gov.in portal and your District Labour Office for the schedule in your district. There is no online cash application for this in-kind benefit, the key is being on the Board's rolls and turning up at the drive.

Common reasons a beneficiary is turned away, and how to fix them

• No active registration — register the woman worker, or renew the parent's labour card if the daughter is claiming.
• Age not covered: confirm the current age band with the District Labour Office.
• Cannot prove the parent-child link: carry the daughter's birth certificate and the parent's registration card.
• Aadhaar or name mismatch, get the Board record corrected at the District Labour Office.

Key facts

• Free sanitary napkins for women workers and daughters of registered workers, roughly aged 9 to 60.
• Funded from the construction cess and delivered free of cost through Board drives.
• A statewide distribution ran in February 2024 alongside blankets, across all districts.

What other Board benefits go with registration?

Registration with UKBOCWWB is worth far more than the sanitary napkin benefit alone, so a woman worker or a worker's family should treat the labour card as a gateway. Depending on the year and the Board's current rules, registered construction workers in Uttarakhand can access help such as maternity and nutrition support for women workers, education assistance for workers' children, marriage assistance, medical and accident support, pension on old age, and periodic material distribution drives for blankets, tools and sanitation items. The sanitary napkin benefit is delivered through the same district network as these, which is why the practical advice is to keep the registration active and ask the District Labour Office for the full current list rather than treating each benefit in isolation.

Keeping the card active matters because most of these benefits, the napkins included, require the worker to be currently registered and up to date on the annual contribution. A lapsed card is the most common reason a family that once received a benefit is later turned away.

Grievance and contact route

For distribution schedules or complaints, contact your District Labour Office or the UKBOCWWB office at the GMVN Building, Rajpur Road, Dehradun. The benefit is free; no agent can lawfully charge a fee to add your name or hand over sanitary napkins under a UKBOCWWB welfare benefit.