4
NEW TOWNS
regularly and reports to the director on the state of site formation, construction, and the general pace and state of co-ordination of the overall project for each town.
The welfare of the residents is the province of the Secretary for the New Territories and his District Officers. The Secretary for the New Territories is also the authority for making available the land on which the new towns are built, and resuming land from former occupiers with suitable compensation arrangements. When the govern- ment makes land available for private development, the New Territories Adminis- tration lays down the terms of the leases.
Through the District Officers, the Secretary for the New Territories maintains a political and administrative presence in the towns. In Tsuen Wan, where 70 per cent of the present population of 553,000 lives in public housing, the District Officer's post has been upgraded to that of Town Manager, with special responsibilities to develop community relations. The District Officer or Town Manager heads a town management committee on which the main government departments - Public Works, Education, Medical and Health, Transport, Royal Hong Kong Police Force, Housing Authority, Urban Services, Fire Services, Social Welfare and Labour - are represented. He maintains close liaison with the project manager as the new town takes shape, keeps contact with new and old inhabitants, listens to complaints and suggestions, and explains government plans and policies.
This has meant new consultative links. Traditionally in the New Territories, the villages have elected or appointed their representatives to committees which, in turn, formed the Heung Yee Kuk, a rural consultative council. The Heung Yee Kuk speaks for rural interests in discussions with the government over land sales and other matters of local concern.
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But the growth of the new towns has brought changes to the rural scene and, to meet the needs of the new townspeople, Advisory Boards were formed in each of the seven districts of the New Territories in 1977. The chairman of the board is the District Officer or Town Manager; some members are government officials while the remainder are local residents representing a wide cross-section of the community such as headmasters, industrialists, village representatives and professional people. The role of the Advisory Boards is to advise the government on the provision and use of recreational and other public facilities, as well as the general well-being of their areas. Public funds are allocated to enable them to promote recreational, cultural and other activities. The unofficial members, through their regular contact with government officials from the various departments, speak for local people on such matters as sport, transport and general aspects of social life in the new communities.
During his speech at the opening of the Legislative Council in October, 1978, the Governor said that the Advisory Boards were beginning to provide the partnership between the people and the government so vitally needed in the development of the New Territories. This, in turn, had raised the need for some basic reorganisation of the New Territories Administration. The Governor said more government activities would be organised on a regional basis so that government departments could be more directly responsive to local needs.
As a result, the Secretary for the New Territories is delegating part of his work to four regional commissioners, leaving him more time to deal with broader issues. Representatives of government departments such as Urban Services, Transport, and