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going to allow RCPs in new types of housing estates to be without covers? This is the first question. Is it our requirement that RCPs must be covered?
The second question concerns the dripping of water from air-conditioners. Mr. Chairman, the system of channeling water-dripping from air-conditioners of these Harmony blocks relies completely on natural evaporation on the podium, with the water collected by the drainage pipes discharging onto the podium. Does the Urban Services Department have any established policy governing the dripping of water from air-conditioners? Should the pipes lead to the underground for drainage?
MR. JOSEPH CHAN YUEK-SUT (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, it is correct that when the Housing Department is going to build a new estate, it will advise the Urban Services Department on the design plan of the RCPs. The items on which our views are sought normally include lighting, access for refuse collection vehicles, ventilation system, etc. As to whether there is any requirement that the RCPs must have a cover as the prevailing standard ones do and be installed with a water filtering system, the answer is that there is at present no law requiring the provision of standard RCPs in estates. Nevertheless, we have already forwarded our recommendation and the design of prevailing standard RCPs to the Housing Department. As to whether they accept them or not, we have no legal authority to require them to provide standard RCPs in housing estates.
It is a normal practice in housing estates that the refuse collected is put in the storeroom to facilitate collection by the refuse collection vehicles of the Urban Services Department. In a lot of housing estates, the schedule of visits of refuse collection vehicles is normally known and rubbish bins are pushed to the open ground before the scheduled time so as to facilitate collection. Such is the normal case. However, whether such method of collection is adopted in newly built estates and whether there is any improvement, there is at present no law stipulating such requirement. We of course hope that they could achieve this.
As for the central dripping-collection system for air-conditioners which channels the water to the podium, it is the responsibility of the Housing Department to drain away the water on the podium. This is the Housing Department's management duty. We have also conveyed the above-mentioned views to the Housing Department.
MR. CHAN KWOK-LEUNG (in Cantonese):-Mr. Chairman, according to the reply of the Chairman of the Select Committee, views of the Urban Services Department have to be sought on the design of the estate RCPs. I want to ask this: is it just a consultation or is the approval of the Urban Services Department or Urban Council required for the design before the Housing Department can proceed with the construction?
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