will not be eligible for resettlement. The activity and publicity caused by the procedure for resuming private land, by the cancellation of permits, and by cultivation surveys tend to give the game away and an influx of impostors precedes most clearances. It is also common for squatter landlords to sell off the cubicles they own when a clearance is imminent, as they may expect to receive no more rent when their tenants have been screened and become eligible for resettlement. It is therefore necessary to number each structure and take particulars of the approx- imate family composition of the people who claim to live in it 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 officers.
53. The next step is the screening process. This is done by Resettle- ment Assistants who visit each structure in the area and record the particulars of every person living in it on a statutory 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 are checked, the address compared with that recorded with the Registrar of Persons 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 considered to be genuinely living in the clearance area, and completed screening forms are passed on to the sub-division's Clearance Unit.
54. 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 house must be demolished, particulars of the type of accommoda- tion for which the family is eligible and the procedure to be followed. The Resettlement Assistant responsible for the clearance delivers these notices personally and explains to the head of each household what is happening and answers questions. So important is this personal contact that if a head of household is not at home the Resettlement Assistant will make repeated visits until he sees him. During the next four weeks the Resettlement Assistant has to be ready to deal with all kinds of requests and to help in solving personal and family problems.
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