226 Infrastructure Development and Heritage Conservation
which may include the payment of premiums and administrative fees. During the year, 134 lease modification and land exchange transactions were concluded, involving an area of about 80.66 hectares of land and land premiums amounting to $26.196 billion.
Land Management and Lease Enforcement
The Lands Department manages properties which have reverted to government ownership through surrender, lease expiry, resumption, re-entry, and other similar actions. During the year, 32 properties were taken over for management by the department and 10 were disposed. The department currently manages 478 properties.
The department keeps a register of man-made slopes and is responsible for the maintenance and safety of 18 700 of them. The department inspects these slopes regularly with the help of private consultants. Information about the maintenance responsibility of slopes is in the department's website for public viewing. During the year, routine maintenance works were carried out on 6 345 slopes and stabilisation work on 315 slopes.
The Lands Department administers a 'Small House Policy' for indigenous villagers in the New Territories and is charged with approving the rebuilding of old village houses. During the year, 1 474 applications for building small houses and 231 applications for rebuilding old village houses were approved. The department is also responsible for processing rent exemption requisitions for indigenous villagers' rural properties in accordance with the exemption criteria in the Government Rent (Assessment and Collection) Ordinance.
The Lands Department is delegated with the authority to approve the display of non-commercial publicity materials at 22 485 spots in public places.
It carries out the squatter control work, done previously by the Housing Department. At present, there are about 6 790 surveyed squatter structures in the urban areas and 386 800 in the New Territories. During the year, 319 illegal structures and extensions were demolished by the Squatter Control Unit.
In April 2010, a new Tree Unit was set up in the Lands Department to provide advice on matters concerning trees and landscape issues relating to leased land. The Tree Unit also gives advice on trees located on land not leased, or allocated, by the Government. The unit handled 3 032 applications and referrals concerning trees on private and Government land during its first nine months of operation.
Land Conveyancing
The Legal Advisory and Conveyancing Office provides legal advice and conveyancing services for government land transactions. These include the drafting of all government land disposal and lease modification documents and the checking of titles in land acquisitions. It processes applications for the sale of units under construction under the Lands Department Consent Scheme. In 2010, a total of 20 applications, involving 6 694 residential units, were approved. The office also approves Deeds of Mutual Covenant. In 2010, 49 such deeds were approved. It also