on the same basis as for retail shops. These undertakings were not previously paid ex-gratia shop allowance upon clearance as they were not retail businesses; this criteria was however felt to be unnecessarily restrictive and had led to considerable difficulties in clearances. Under the new policy the test is the loss of livelihood, and this should make for smoother clearances in future. The rate of compensation is the same as for retail shops, i.e. $120 per square foot for areas under 50 square fect and $30 for every square foot in area in excess of 50 square feet, up to a maximum of $20,000.
40. The second change was a more generous system for cash com- pensation for urban pigbreeders on clearance, including an increase in the rate of compensation from $7 per square foot of pigsty to $8; the abolition of the minimum area requirement of 120 square feet of pigsty to qualify for compensation; and an increase in the maximum amount of compensation payable to a single eligible pig-farming family from $2,500 to $10,000.
41. As indicated in paragraph 37 above, the number of persons resettled during the year was more than double that of the previous year, as a result of an increase in the number of clearances executed. The most notable operation during the year was the clearance of six borrow areas to provide filling materials for the Kai Tak Airport Runway Extension; these involved the clearance of 1,500 structures with 4,100 people from a total of 71.1 acres of land. Other important clearances included those undertaken to allow for the construction of a road at the Tin Hau Temple Road area, for the widening of the Tung Tau Tsuen Road in conjunction with the construction of a Government low-cost housing estate, for the construction of a resettle- ment estate at Shun Lee Tsuen, Clear Water Bay Road and for a site at Ho Man Tin which will be developed for residential, commercial and institutional purposes. A total of 14,400 persons in 4,000 structures were resettled into various resettlement estates in connection with the above projects, including the borrow areas, and 198.7 acres of land were freed for development.
42. Two special cases both involving ex-tenants of dangerous build- ings deserve special mention in this report because of policy implications arising out of them. The first concerned the offer of direct resettlement to ex-tenants of a post-war dangerous building at Tong Shui Road, North Point, whilst the second related to the offer of re-accommodation at the Kwai Fong Government Low Cost Housing Estate (instead
13