HOUSING
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necessary engineering staff have unfortunately held up the formation of this new Development Division.
RESETTLEMENT
It is now two and a half years since the decision was taken in 1954 to embark on a gigantic programme for the con- struction of large Resettlement Estates of seven-storey blocks as the only practicable means of solving the squatter problem, and so releasing the land urgently needed for the houses, factories, schools, hospitals and other essential requirements of a rapidly expanding community. So far Government has built multi-storey resettlement accommodation for 103,000 persons, in addition to the temporary two-storey accommoda- tion for 36,000 persons built early in 1954.
Before 1954 the only form of resettlement offered to squat- ters was the allocation of sites in resettlement areas which consisted of terraced hillsides unsuitable for multi-storey buildings. It is still the policy to develop these older resettle- ment areas, now known as cottage areas, to the maximum extent possible, and the 14,000 one-storey cottages and huts which they now contain provide reasonable housing for over 72,000 persons. 10,800 of these cottages are owned by the settlers themselves, while the remainder are rented, sometimes on hire purchase terms. 1,000 cottages are owned by the Government, and for these a monthly rent of $10 is charged in addition to the quarterly permit fee payable for sites in the cottage areas.
52,700 squatters were cleared and resettled during 1956. Some 14,000 of these were the victims of squatter fires, while 38,700 were occupying 104 acres of land required urgently for various forms of permanent development. The areas cleared included sites for two large housing estates to be built by the Housing Authority, for eleven schools, and for four welfare and community centres. Other sites were cleared to allow the Public Works Department to carry out major drainage and road works, and to lay new water mains for