Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1962-1963 — Page 13

Others may be occupied by only one or two families maintaining a reasonably high standard of living. The great variety of both the use to which the various buildings are put and the classes of occupants— from labourers to teachers, from beggars to industrialists--necessitates differences of approach to the individual squatters.

29. The first step in clearing a squatter area is the survey and numbering of huts. In order to ensure that only genuine residents are given resettlement, it is necessary to discourage the influx of interlopers (known in resettlement jargon as 'Impostors'). The activity and publicity caused by resumption proceedings for private land, cancellation of permits and cultivation surveys tend to give the game away and lead to such an influx with a corresponding reduction in the net housing gain and also an increase in the cost of clearing a particular area. It has therefore been found necessary to number each structure and take particulars of approximate family composition of people who claim to live in it well in advance of the final clearance and before the other necessary processes are started. It has been found possible to survey a very large area by using maximum resources over a one day period. Once this survey has taken place, it is a valuable guide to the screening officers.

30. The next step in clearing a squatter area 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 claimed to be living in a structure is obviously inflated. The Area Officer must then make a detailed investi- gation, checking the number of bedspaces in the hut and the addresses given on identity cards and visiting alternative addresses. Sometimes persons are found to be living at another address. Sometimes 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. Resettle- ment Department temporary identity card) is issued to the head of each household considered to be genuinely living in the clearance area. Screening forms when completed are passed on to the Clearance Unit.

31. 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 accom- modation for which the family is eligible and the procedure to be followed. These notices are delivered personally by the Area Officer

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