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FRIDAY, AUGUST 1, 1980
DR HAYES SAID STAFFING FOR TOWN MANAGEMENT IN OTHER DEPARTMENTS, AS WELL AS HIS OWN, WOULD BE EXAMINED DURING WORKING UP OF THE GREEN PAPER PROPOSALS.
LAND CONTROL WORK IN TSUEN WAN NEW TOWN HAD BEEN CARRIED OUT BY THE DISTRICT OFFICE SINCE SEPTEMBER, 1974, MOSTLY IN RESPECT OF PERSONS WHO WERE OCCUPYING CROWN LAND ÍLLEGALLY FOR VARIOUS BUSINESS PURPOSES THAT OFTEN CONSTITUTED AN ENVIRONMENTAL NUISANCE.
TO DATE, ALMOST 2 000 CASES WERE HANDLED, OF WHICH THREE QUARTERS WERE RECTIFIED BEFORE AN APPLICATION FOR SUMMONS HAD BEEN MADE.
OF THE REMAINDER, SOME 200 PEOPLE WERE CONVICTED AND FINED BY COURT ACTION IMPRISONMENT WAS ORDERED IN 28 CASES, AND JAIL SENTENCES WERE SUSPENDED IN ANOTHER 60.
THERE ARE CURRENTLY 100 NEW CASES UNDER INVESTIGATION.
DURING THIS PERIOD THERE WERE ALSO 165 CLEARANCE OPERATIONS UNDERTAKEN WITH OTHER DEPARTMENTS TO TIDY UP SIDE AND BACK LANES AND BLACK SPOTS.
THERE WERE 80 OPERATIONS IN THE CURRENT YEAR, THE LATEST BEING ON CROWN LAND OPPOSITE THE SHEK LEI BUS TERMINUS IN KWAT CHUNG WHEN SEVEN STRUCTURES WERE DEMOLISHED AND 40 LORRY LOADS OF RUBBISH AND DEBRIS REMOVED.
WITH REGARD TO LEASE ENFORCEMENT, THIS HAS BEEN IN OPERATION SINCE JULY, 1974. DURING THIS PERIOD, THE DISTRICT OFFICE HANDLED 902 CASES OF BREACH OF USER IN DOMESTIC BUILDINGS — MOSTLY UNAUTHORISED INDUSTRIAL WORKSHOPS — AND 169 CASES IN INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS, MANY INVOLVING ILLEGAL USE OF AUTHORISED CAR AND LORRY PARKING SPACES FOR STORAGE OR OFFICES.
+AS WITH CROWN LAND, WE HAVE SUCCEEDED IN PURGING THE BREACH IN THE MAJORITY OF CASES, MAKING LIFE EASIER FOR NEIGHBOURS,+ DR HAYES SAID.
HOWEVER, HE AND HIS STAFF WERE UNDER NO ILLUSIONS.
+WE HAVE WORKED SO FAR WITH MINIMUM RESOURCES BECAUSE OF THE PRIORITY THAT HAS TO BE GIVEN TO LAND RESUMPTION AND CLEARANCE WORK FOR DEVELOPMENT PURPOSES, AND WE ARE ONLY AT THE START OF THIS WORK.
+MOREOVER, THESE DUTIES ARE NECESSARILY OF A CONTINUOUS AND ONGOING NATURE.
+ IT IS NECESSARY TO KEEP UP THE PRESSURE AND MAKE SURE, BY REGULAR INSPECTIONS AND ENLISTING LOCAL SUPPORT, THAT THE SITUATION IS KEPT UNDER CONTROL.+
THE INTEREST AND SUPPORT OF PUBLIC-MINDED CITIZENS WAS ABSOLUTELY VITAL, TOGETHER WITH ALL-OUT EFFORTS BY GOVERNMENT OFFICERS.
ONLY IN THIS WAY, DR HAYES SAID, WOULD IT BE POSSIBLE TO ENSURE A SATISFACTORY LIVING ENVIRONMENT FOR FAMILIES IN MULTI-STOREY BLOCKS AND FOR PERSONS OCCUPIED DURING WORKING HOURS IN MULTI-STOREY INDUSTRIAL BUILDINGS.
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