Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1963-1964 — Page 16

as a sudden demand for resettlement accommodation, perhaps as the result of a natural disaster or the urgent need to clear land for a public purpose, or to unforeseen delays in completing the construction of resettle- ment blocks.

(b) Screening and Clearance

28. The structures found in clearance areas vary greatly. Some are the familiar wooden shacks, others are substantial buildings of stone or even of reinforced concrete. Most of the more substantial buildings are on leased agricultural land or in permit arcas. Many of these are divided into cubicles and are as crowded as the regular squatter huts. Others may be occupied by only one or two families maintaining a rea- sonably high standard of living. Some clearance areas may have a high proportion of small scale industries, and shops will be found in many areas. The occupants are often as varied in their educational background and financial resources as the uses to which buildings are put, and a different approach is needed for each.

29. The first step in clearing a squatter area is the survey and number- ing 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') and notices are posted in the clearance area to warn 'impostors' who may move into the area that they 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 approximate 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 officer.

30. 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 peron 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 Operations Division must then carry out a detailed investigation in which the number of bedspaces and possessions in the hut and the addresses

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