SATURDAY, MAY 12, 1990
2
URBAN SQUATTERS TO BE CLEARED FROM UNSAFE HILLSIDES
* * * *
LIVING
A TARGET OF CLEARING AND THE GOVERNMENT HAS SET
REMAINING THE
PEOPLE 8,000 HILLSIDES IN THE URBAN AREAS.
BY THE END OF 1991
REHOUSING ON UNSAFE
SQUATTER CLEARANCE
THE EXERCISE WILL MARK THE COMPLETION OF A
THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT ON PROGRAMME WHICH WAS INITIATED IN 1985 BY
GEOTECHNICAL CONTROL OFFICE (GCO) TO ELIMINATE THE ADVICE OF THE
OF URBAN RISKS FROM LANDSLIPS, DURING HEAVY RAINFALL, THAT RESIDENTS SQUATTER HUTS MIGHT FACE.
THROUGH THE
CLEARANCE
IMPROVEMENTS
GOVERNMENT
FROM
THE PROGRAMME,
HAS MADE TO SAFEGUARD SQUATTERS
LANDSLIDE SIGNIFICANT
ALMOST 49,000 SQUATTERS HAVE HAZARDS, AND OVER THE PAST FIVE YEARS BEEN CLEARED FROM POTENTIALLY HAZARDOUS SLOPES IN THE URBAN AREA, BEEN REHOUSED.
AND
SHOWED THAT THERE HILLSIDES IN THE URBAN VULNERABLE TO LANDSLIPS DURING HEAVY
IN 1984, THE GCO CARRIED OUT A STUDY WHICH WERE ABOUT 57,000 SQUATTERS LIVING ON STEEP AREA WHICH WERE PARTICULARLY RAINFALL.
THE GCO'S LANDSLIP MAJORITY OF THE SQUATTER BEFORE THE NECESSARY LARGE SCALE WORKS
THESE SLOPES COULD NOT BE RECTIFIED UNDER PREVENTIVE MEASURES PROGRAMME BECAUSE THE HUTS NEEDED TO BE CLEARED COULD BE CARRIED OUT.
HOUSING IT WAS FOR THIS REASON THAT THE GCO RECOMMENDED TO THE
CLEARED FROM SUCH SLOPES. BUT THESE DEPARTMENT THAT SQUATTERS BE
ONLY BE
WITHIN UNDERTAKEN
THE CLEARANCES COULD
CAPACITY OF GOVERNMENT'S HOUSING PROGRAMME.
THE
OUT ON AREAS, WHICH IN MAY 1982, WERE CLEARED FOR NEW
SUBSEQUENTLY, LARGE SCALE CLEARANCES HAVE BEEN CARRIED STEEP HILLSIDES SUCH AS LAM TIN AND SHAU KEI WAN. THESE WERE HIT BADLY BY A RAINSTORM HOUSING DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS.
CLEARANCES SINCE
BEGAN, THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT'S SQUATTER NEW SQUATTER HUTS FROM
PREVENTION TEAMS HAVE EFFECTIVELY PREVENTED BEING ERECTED ON HILLSIDES.
THE
ALSO SUBSTANTIALLY COMPLETED THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT HAS SQUATTER AREA IMPROVEMENT PROJECTS IN SELECTED LOCATIONS WHICH INCLUDE LOCALISED SLOPE IMPROVEMENTS.
THE OVER
PAST SEVEN YEARS, 79 SUCH COMPLETED AT A TOTAL COST OF ABOUT $171 MILLION.
PROJECTS
HAVE BEEN
YEAR, ABOUT $2.6 MILLION
WILL BE
IN THE CURRENT FINANCIAL SPENT IN CARRYING OUT NEW PROJECTS.
/THE GOO