Page 87 of 259
152
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
I would add that, between 1st January and 30th June, 1967, altogether 1,208 households or 8,717 persons were given larger accommodation either in the same estate or in another. Of this number 970 households or 7,177 persons were residents of Mark I blocks.
MR. NG: Mr. Chairman, I understand there are some Mark I Estates being converted to self-contained units. Is this in line with previous policy, because the Commissioner did say that he is formulating a proposal now for further conversion?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT: I think there must be some misunderstanding, Mr. Chairman. No conversions at all have taken place. Four blocks were constructed right from the start as self-contained flats, two at Jordan Valley, one at Lo Fu Ngam and one at Wong Tai Sin. There have been no conversions, apart from a limited number of individual rooms, some of which were originally temporary officers' quarters.
MR. NG: Mr. Chairman, if my memory does not fail me, I think the Director of Public Works did mention in last year's Annual Debate that some of the Mark I Estates were being converted into self-contained units?
DIRECTOR OF PUBLIC WORKS: I do not think so, Mr. Chairman. I think the confusion is, as Mr. BARTY says, that the Mark I and Mark II Blocks were designed so that they could be converted, and that four blocks were built as converted blocks. I think that is where the confusion has arisen.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN: Could the Commissioner give an assurance to this Council, Mr. Chairman, that, before such proposals are put forward to the Housing Board, Members of the Standing Committee, or alternatively, the Resettlement Policy Select Committee will have had an opportunity to study such proposals?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT: The Resettlement Policy Select Committee will certainly be consulted, Mr. Chairman.
MR. BERNACCHI: On a point perhaps of correction. The Commissioner for Resettlement said in his reply "will require support of the Housing Board". Is it not "require the co-operation of the Housing Board". We are the authority for resettlement in the urban areas although, of course, without the co-operation of the Board everything gets in a muddle, and Government by co-operation is a better Government than a Government without co-operation. We will, in fact, require the co-operation, rather than the support of the Housing Board.
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT: I do not think, Mr. Chairman, the Housing Board would take exception to that amendment.
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
153
(7) MR. PETER P. K. NG asked the following question:
Can the Commissioner for Resettlement advise the Council that for all the MARK I Resettlement Estates which cannot be converted for the time being:
(a) What effective measures have been taken by the Resettlement Department to improve the sanitary and lighting conditions of the toilets and ablution facilities of the MARK I Resettlement Estates?
(b) What effective measures have been taken to provide space for cooking so that cooking may not have to be carried out in open corridors meant as fire escapes.
THE COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:
The answer to the first part of this question is that the Works Division of the Resettlement Department keeps the maintenance of public lavatories and ablution spaces under continuous review. All 146 Mark I blocks are now provided with a salt-water flushing supply, and pipes and cisterns which were originally of galvanized iron have been replaced by P.V.C. pipes and asbestos storage tanks, with the exception of some external supply pipes leading to the roof tanks, which will all be renewed by the middle of 1968. The old type of ball valves have been replaced by automatic china syphonic valves.
The use of salt-water for cleansing purposes has affected the reinforced concrete used in resettlement blocks and it has been necessary to spend considerable sums of money on repairs to floor slabs, beams and columns, particularly in lavatories and washing spaces in Mark I blocks. A sum of $97,800 has been allocated in this year's estimates for repairs of this nature as part of a continuing programme.
The original doors of the public lavatories were wooden. These however proved to be insufficiently robust to withstand rough usage and were, in any case, not always closed when in use. In 52 blocks the doors have been replaced by screen walls which are relatively expensive to construct but will involve little in the way of maintenance in future. I hope that this programme will be continued.
Regular cleansing of all lavatories, washing and ablution space and staircases is carried out by estate staff. One male and one female labourer are available for this work in each Mark I and II block, and they clean all areas under
Page 87 of 259