Hoardings and posters from politicians, municipal councillors, and Resident Welfare Associations (RWAs) with greetings for Chief Minister Rekha Gupta’s birthday, Teej and Independence Day can be seen hanging on trees and police as one enters North West Delhi’s Shalimar Bagh — the CM’s Assembly constituency.Last year, Gupta, a long-time municipal councillor and former student politician, won Shalimar Bagh by 30,000 votes and was elected as the MLA in a poll in which the BJP stormed to power in the Capital after more than two decades. One of the party’s major poll promises was a monthly financial aid for women from economically weaker sections — Delhi Lakshmi Yojana is set to be rolled out later this month on Raksha Bandhan (August 28).The financial aid scheme, unlike similar incentives rolled out by several states, comes with a detailed set of eligibility conditions, exclusions and guidelines on how the assistance can be used.Inside Indira Colony, a slum cluster with around 400 homes, the launch of the scheme has drawn mixed response – most of the eligible women here work as house helps in nearby houses. Even as only the eldest woman member of a family, with an annual income of less than Rs 2.5 lakh, between the age of 21 and 60 is eligible for the monthly aid, many are still trying to understand the terms.Gurbari Sahu, 60, and her daughter-in-law, Nirmala, 33, say they have both filled the application forms. “Kisi ek ko toh mil jaaye… agar ek hi bharte aur nahi milta to? (At least one of us will get..what if we only filled one and it got rejected?),” says Gurbari, sitting in the street outside their house.Gurbari and her son, who works as a construction labourer, spent five days for the submission of applications — trying to understand the criteria all along. “We went to the cyber cafe where there was a long queue of applicants… When our turn finally came, we were told to get a Voter ID, then a letter from our MLA,” Gurbari, whose family earns around Rs 15,000 every month, recalls.She adds, “We asked around and got to know about the CM’s Office, where we went and registered for a letter. Two days later, we finally got the letter with the CM’s stamp…finally got the process completed.”Story continues below this ad“I want to buy clothes for my children. We are not able to save money otherwise,” says Nirmala.The women already receiving benefits under any other financial assistance scheme or pension, income taxpayers, GST return filers, government employees, women with more than three children, families with annual electricity consumption exceeding 2,400 units, families with a member employed by the government, families owning a four-wheeler, and women with a criminal record, are ineligible to avail the benefits of the scheme.“Dil mein thoda toh lagta hai agar padosi ko mile aur hume na mile (You will get jealous once if your neighbour gets something and you will not),” says 32-year old Anil Kumar Gupta, whose family is not eligible to receive the monthly dole as he owns a couple of small pickup trucks in which he transports goods across NCR. “But I also understand that the government wants to send money to the poorest,” he adds.However, Jyoti, a 28-year-old resident who hails from Uttar Pradesh’s Gorakhpur, is critical. “In logo ko vote hum sabka chahiye tha, lekin paise chhant chaant ke de rahe hai (They wanted everyone’s vote, while they are excluding everybody while giving money).” Her husband owns two pickup trucks, making her ineligible for the scheme. “My husband’s income is enough for us. But I would have gotten some money in my hand and could have spent it on what I wanted if I also got it,” she adds.Story continues below this adMeena Devi has three sons and two daughters, all of whom are working odd jobs. “Those with more children need more money… but those are the people excluded. During the AAP regime, the poor used to get government benefits easily, now they ask for so many documents, so many questions,” she claims.A source in the CM’s office, however, said, “Whenever the government makes any scheme, it takes a decision on how to benefit the poorest section of society through it.”“Humare liye toh jo hume paise dede vo mai baap hai, lekin aur bhi kaam karna padega jhuggi mein (The one who gives us money is like a parent to us, but we will have to work… just this will not suffice),” Gurbari says.