well in advance of the final clearance and before the other necessary processes start. Once this survey has taken place, it is a valuable guide to the screening officer.
36. The next step is the screening process. This is done by Area Officers who visit each structure in the area and record the particulars of every person living in it on a screening form. This task can be quite simple if the answers given are straightforward; but often the number of persons allegedly living in a building is obviously inflated. Another section of the sub-division must then carry out a detailed investigation in which the number of bedspaces and possessions in the hut and the addresses given on identity cards are checked, and alternative addresses visited. Sometimes night checks are necessary. At times even thorough investigation still leaves the case in doubt and it is then referred to a senior officer for decision. A 'white card' (i.e. Resettlement Department temporary identity card) is issued to the head of each household con- sidered to be genuinely living in the clearance area, and completed screening forms are passed on to the sub-division's Clearance Unit.
37. About a month before the clearance is due to take place, the Clearance Unit issues notices giving the date by which the squatters should register, the date on which they should move, the date by which their houses must be demolished, particulars of the type of accommoda- tion for which the family is eligible and the procedure to be followed. The Area Officer responsible for the clearance delivers these notices personally, and takes this opportunity to explain to the head of each household what is happening and to answer questions. So important is this personal contact that if a head of household is not at home the Area Officer will make repeated visits until he sees him. During the next four weeks the Area Officer has to be ready to deal with all kinds of requests and to help in solving personal and family problems.
38. By the end of the first week most of the questions have been answered and a great many personal problems have been solved or alleviated. By the second week registration is usually complete and all 'white cards', birth certificates, identity cards and other documents checked to ensure that no additions or substitutions have been made since screening took place. Each household is then required to produce a group photograph of all members of the family, and the head of the household then receives his letter of authority to enter a particular resettlement estate. During the third week the Clearance Unit prepares a nominal roll showing the composition of each household and forwards
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