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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
1971-72 and how many will be accommodated in each of the following three financial years and where they will be located?
MR. PETER C. K. CHAN, CHAIRMAN OF SELECT COMMITTEE, replied as follows:
THE RESETTLEMENT
A total of 55,627 people were accommodated in resettlement units in the year 1971-72.
In the three following financial years, that is, 1972 to 1975 an average of 81,300 persons will be offered re-accommodation in public housing in the various resettlement categories. But the production of new resettlement estates in these years will be very limited, and so about 70% of these families will be offered accommodation in low-cost housing estates.
The resettlement housing available will be at Sau Mau Ping, Lam Tin, Yau Tong and Hing Wah.
MR. SALES: -Mr. Chairman, would you please convey our thanks to the Chairman of the Resettlement Select Committee on the statement he made earlier. I thought it was a forthright statement fully reflecting the position as it exists today. Considering his handicap, Mr. Chairman, I would not like to ask him any more supplementary questions as his hands are tied behind his back and it would not be fair to do so.
MR. CHAN:-I am most grateful.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Could I ask for clarification, either from the Chairman of the Select Committee or the Commissioner for Resettlement, whether Government has not officially dropped the term "Resettlement Estate" for "Government Low-Cost Housing”, whether of the Resettlement variety or Housing Authority or Government Low-Cost?
COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-Mr. Chairman, the word "resettlement" is still in use as an adjective. Resettlement estates still appear in the Public Works Programme, described as such, and low-cost housing estates appear in the Programme described again as such. I have spoken to the Members before on the same question at what point in time would it be sensible and meaningful to change the word "resettlement" to some less emotive phrase, and I have always maintained myself that it is best to leave off such a change until better conditions are in train because if we bring in a new adjective, a new type of estate description now, then I think you would tend to discredit it in due time because it would become attached to many of the present unsatisfactory conditions in these estates.
In any case, if there is going
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to be some reorganization of public housing then I think now is not the time to think up a new description.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Well in that case Mr. Chairman, in the second paragraph of this reply, it is not spelt out clearly how many units of accommodation in the new resettlement estates will be provided and I think that is one of the points which Mr. SALES and I are very concerned about.
MR. C. K. CHAN:-Mr. Chairman, during the last meeting, I think Mr. SALES asked a question on that point. I think the question has been answered, although not very adequately, and Mr. SALES has already asked to be supplied with the information. However, I have already got the information in a letter. If Mr. CHEONG-LEEN wants it I can supply it to him.
MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Thank you, I would like it.
CHAIRMAN:-Thank you Mr. CHAN,
(4) MR. A. de O. SALES asked the following question:-
Having regard to paragraph 26 of the White Paper on the Urban Council, will the Chairman please state which projects approved by the Recreation and Amenities Select Committee and submitted to the Government, will still be paid for in full by the Government? Which other projects are not likely to be so paid?
THE CHAIRMAN, URBAN COUNCIL, replied as follows:-
With Mr. MACKENZIE's permission, I propose to combine the answer to his question at No. 8 on the order paper with the answer to this one because both are concerned with the future financing of recreation and amenity projects.
As Members are no doubt aware, paragraph 26 of the Government White Paper on the Urban Council states, inter alia, that, if the Council so wishes, the P.W.D. will complete, at Government expense, all items listed in Categories A, D and E of the Public Works Programme on a date which is yet to be agreed it being assumed that in due course the Council will set up its own Architectural Section. A paper dealing with paragraph 26 has just been issued to the Finance and General Purposes Select Committee.
I lay upon the table up-to-date lists of the various recreation and amenity projects currently in the Public Works Programme showing the items by categories. (See Appendix I).
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