Now, just a statement from a neighbour identifying a beneficiary and the duration of the concerned persons’ stay in the slum would be sufficient to hand over the land ownership rights to the dwellers.

These decisions were taken keeping in mind that most slum-dwellers did not have either the BPL card or any identity proof like the Election Commission photo-identity card.

The scheme — Sarvajan Hitay Garib Avas Malikana Haq Yojna — was announced by Chief Minister Mayawati on her 53rd birthday on January 15.

According to the scheme, people living in slums on government lands possessing houses of 30 square metre are entitled to ownership rights at a nominal rate of Rs 20 per metre.

Survey teams, which visited the slums to compile the list of beneficiaries, found a very small percentage of slum-dwellers barely had houses of maximum 33 square metre. These teams can allow an exemption of 10 per cent excess area.

For instance, of the 3,200 families in Iradat Nagar slum, the Lucknow Development Authority’s (LDA) team found only 154 families eligible.

Similar was the situation at Janta Nagari, a slum in the Chowk area. Among the 2,000 families, only 204 qualified.

Camps will be organised in the slums on Saturday where the selected beneficiaries can deposit money to get their ownership rights, said Yogesh Pathak, LDA executive engineer, who headed the survey team at Janta Nagari.

Interestingly, many of the slum-dwellers had motorcycles, televisions, washing machines and air coolers, which the survey teams overlooked and included the owners in their lists.

The slum-dwellers, who had houses bigger than 33 square metre, wondered as to what would happen to them. Most of them had a common question: will their houses be demolished?

But the LDA officials had no answer. “Houses of area up to 33 square metre are being considered. A decision about others may be taken by the government after February 10,” said an official.