52. During 1968-69, 16 urban lots were re-entered upon by the Crown, 14 for non-payment of premium, one for non-payment of Crown rent and one for breach of condition in an Exclusion Order made under the Landlord and Tenant Ordinance. Four of these lots were held under Conditions of Sale, 10 under Conditions of Regrant and the remaining two under Crown leases. The permitted uses and total areas of these lots were as follows:
Permitted Use
Industrial/Godown
No. of Lots
1
10
Total
2,100 sq. ft. 15,724
2
36,000
53
1
5,760
559
2
•
1,753
55
16
61,337
35
Non-Industrial
Ship-building/Sawmill and Timberyard...
Industrial
Residential
...
...
53. After petitions made by the former lessees to the Governor in Council for relief against forfeiture, re-entries on two urban lots were cancelled upon payment of arrears of premium and interest, and administrative and Land Office registration fees.
Legal Proceedings against Property Owners
54. In some cases where there is a default in payment of Crown rent or premium, as an alternative to re-entry legal proceedings are instituted against the owner for the recovery of the money due to the Government. During the year, 26 such cases were referred to the Legal Department for legal proceedings to be instituted, and a total sum of $1,250,276 was recovered in 33 cases, including 18 referred to the Legal Department in the previous year. One case was withdrawn, and 10 cases were pending at the end of the year.
Armed Services Lands
55. The Land Office maintains registers of all lands held by the armed services and is responsible for preparing all documents relating thereto. Under the new policy announced by the Government in December 1966, the old Military Lands Account procedure established in the 1890s was superseded by a new arrangement under which the armed services have agreed to return to the Hong Kong Government free of charge any land held by them as soon as it is no longer required for purposes in connection with the defence of the Colony, and the Government has agreed to provide land free to the armed services when
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