Ahead of the launch of the ‘Mukhya Mantri Mawan Dhiyan Satkar Yojana’ on April 13, women in the district have begun to form long queues at ‘Sewa Kendras’ to obtain caste certificates, a prerequisite for SC-category women to receive the Rs 1,500/month benefit.The much-delayed scheme, which promises monthly assistance of Rs 1,000 for general category women and Rs 1,500 for women from Scheduled Castes and Scheduled Tribes, will be rolled out across the state from April 13.General category women must present a Punjab-based Aadhaar card, while Scheduled Caste women eligible for the Rs 1,500 benefit are required to submit their SC category certificate along with the registration form to claim it.At the only ‘Sewa Kendra’ in Banur, women began lining up as early as 7 am, two hours before tokens were distributed. Many women were represented by their husbands or sons, who collected tokens, while the women themselves arrive later to submit the forms and obtain their certificates.Around 40 to 50 women visit the Banur Sewa Kendra each day to apply for caste certificates. The processing fee is Rs 70 and it takes approximately 15 days to issue the certificate, as documents undergo verification at multiple levels, officials said.A notification issued on April 2 makes it mandatory for SC and ST women to produce caste certificates to access the enhanced benefits.Visitors at the Sewa Kendras are reporting difficulties due to overcrowding. “If earlier it took an hour to complete the process, it now takes several hours to submit the online form. The government should arrange for certificates to be issued at village level through sarpanch and Numberdar,” said one visitor.