18. At the end of March 1973 there were 19 Class II licensed areas with a total capacity for 43,100 people. For a monthly fee of $3.00 the genuinely homeless may be granted a site in a Class II licensed area for the erection of a hut. As they are of a temporary nature, the huts are simple but must be constructed of fire-resistant material. A standard scale is laid down to determine the hut sizes depending upon the size of the family. Basic facilities are provided, such as a free water supply, surface drains and latrines. Some of the larger areas have schools, welfare centres and clinics operated by charitable and religious organizations.
19. During the year, 8,374 persons were resited into licensed areas. They comprised:
Victims of natural disasters and fires
21
Tenants and rooftop squatters from condemned buildings and
buildings under redevelopment
1,346
72
...
***
...
Boat squatters
33
...
6,712
Compassionate cases
Squatters from unsurveyed structures and clearance operations...
Others, mainly former tenants or permittees evicted from public
housing estates or cottage areas.....
***
190
At the beginning of the year there were 38,341 persons in Class II licensed areas, but at the end of March 1973 the number had dropped to 35,271. There was, however, a waiting list of some 8,000 persons entitled to sites in licensed areas about to be developed.
20. The heavy rains in June 1972 caused a disastrous landslide at Sau Mau Ping Licensed Area which buried 79 huts, resulting in 68 deaths. Following these rains, 19,000 people living in over 2,800 huts in various licensed and squatter areas were offered public housing.
21. At the end of the year there were three Class III licensed areas at Kwun Tong, Tai Wo Ping and Ha Kwai Chung, accommodating 235 operators of industrial undertakings in a total of 237,820 square feet of space. These Class III licensed areas are intended for industrial undertakings which are cleared from Crown Land required for develop- ment, but which require substantial storage space and are therefore unsuitable for allocation of space in a flatted factory estate.
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