MARINE DEPARTMENT LIBRARY
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structure. The main provisions of Part II of the Ordinance empower competent authority to clear squatters and unlawful structures from Crown land, and confer certain powers upon him in respect of Crown land held on lease or permit. Under this part of the Ordinance the Com- missioner for Resettlement is the competent authority for the urban areas (including New Kowloon) and Tsuen Wan; for the rest of the New Territories (except New Kowloon) the District Commissioner acts as competent authority, while the General Manager of the Kowloon- Canton Railway is the competent authority for railway land. Part III deals with the screening of persons before resettlement, the Commissioner for Resettlement being the competent authority for the whole Colony. Parts IV and V are concerned respectively with the letting and management of resettlement estates and resettlement factory areas, and of cottage resettlement areas. The competent authorities for these sections are the Commissioner for Resettlement in respect of the New Territories, and the Urban Council for Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Kowloon. Part VA deals with the occupation of Crown land by homeless persons and certain others, that is, with licensed areas. Appendix 2 summarizes the provisions of each part of the Ordinance and the competent authori- ties exercising powers under them in the various parts of the Colony.
22. The amendments to the Resettlement Regulations during the year were mainly concerned with rents for the new Mark V blocks, the new annexe or free-standing restaurants, and for premises allocated as medical clinics. Details of these developments are given in Chapter 6.
THE URBAN COUNCIL
23. The Urban Council has played an important part in the resettle- ment programme since the earliest days before the Resettlement Depart- ment was set up and, as mentioned above, it is the competent authority for Parts IV and V of the Resettlement Ordinance in respect of the urban area. This means, in effect, that it is responsible for the manage- ment of the urban estates and cottage areas. It can let and terminate domestic, shop and factory tenancies in resettlement estates and it can amend tenancy cards. In cottage areas it can authorize the crection of buildings on permit, approve the form of hire purchase agreements, authorize the occupation of buildings, revoke and amend occupation permits and let Government-owned buildings. The Council delegates its responsibilities to two Select Committees and, in 1967-68, did so in the following terms:
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