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MONDAY, OCTOBER 15, 1984
MR BARMA SAID TEMPORARY HOUSING WAS A STEPPING STONE TOWARDS PERMANENT HOUSING FOR PEOPLE MADE HOMELESS BY CLEARANCES OR NATURAL DISASTERS WHO WERE NOT INSTANTLY QUALIFIED FOR REHOUSING TO ESTATES.
AT PRESENT, THERE ARE 47 THA'S ACCOMMODATING OVER 40 000 FAMILIES OR 133 000 PERSONS.
AS THE QUALITY OF PERMANENT HOUSING WAS ALWAYS IMPROVING, MR BARMA SAID THE BENEFIT OF THA TENANTS HAD NOT BEEN NEGLECTED.
+FROM TIME TO TIME, THA RESIDENTS CAN APPLY FOR PUBLIC HOUSING THROUGH TRAWLING EXERCISES WHICH ARE HELD WHEN ESTATE FLATS ARE AVAILABLE.
+ IN THE PAST FOUR YEARS, NEARLY 50 000 THA RESIDENTS HAVE BEEN ALLOCATED PUBLIC HOUSING AND IT IS EXPECTED ANOTHER 13 000 WILL BE PERMANENTLY REHOUSED THIS YEAR.+
HE SAID THE RECENTLY APPROVED NEW PUBLIC HOUSING ALLOCATI ". POLICIES PAID SPECIAL CARE TO THA RESIDENTS.
+UNDER THE NEW ALLOCATION POLICIES, THE 16 000 SINGLETONS AND 9 000 TWO-PERSON FAMILIES IN THA'S WILL BE GIVEN PRIORITY I REHOUSING TO PUBLIC HOUSING.
+ IN ADDITION, THA TENANTS, WHO HAVE SEVEN YEARS RESIDENCE IN HONG KONG, ARE NOW ELIGIBLE FOR GREEN FORM STATUS FOR APPL HOME OWNERSHIP FLATS.+
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ON SQUATTING ACTIVITIES, MR BARMA SAID THE DEPARTMENT HAD TOTALLY EFFECTIVE SQUATTER CONTROL WHEREBY ALL NEW ILLEGAL OTRO WERE DEMOLISHED FORTHWITH UPON DETECTION.
+THIS IS ACHIEVED UNDER AN OPERATIONAL SYSTEM WHICH DIVIDE. THE WHOLE TERRITORY INTO 329 AREAS TO WHICH DIFFERENT DEGREE OF EXTENSIVE PATROLS ARE CARRIED OUT.+
AS REGARDS THE IMPACT AND VOLUME OF WORK OF THE CLEARANCE DIVISION, HE SAID IT COULD BE ILLUSTRATED BY SOME BASIC STATISTIC.
+ IN THE PAST FIVE YEARS, WE HAVE CLEARED AND REHOUSED AN AVERAGE OF 60 000 PERSONS ANNUALLY WHILST A TOTAL OF $111 MILLION IN EX-GRATIA COMPENSATION PER ANNUM HAS BEEN PAID OUT.
+ALL THIS REQUIRES A LOT OF FIELD WORK WHICH IS TIME- CONSUMING BUT THOROUGH, MR BARMA SAID.
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