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Unauthorised building works problem recognised
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The acting Director of Buildings, Mr Cheng Wei-dart, today (Tuesday) welcomed the recognition by the Commissioner for Administrative Complaints (COMAC) that the problem of unauthorised building works (UBW) is "complex and difficult".
Responding to a report on unauthorised building works released by COMAC, Mr Cheng said the Buildings Department would study carefully all recommendations in the report, and follow them up as necessary.
Noting COMAC's view that the Government's policy of prioritised enforcement was "inherently unfair and inconsistent", he felt this was over simplifying a long- standing problem.
"Given that the nature of the problem is so complex, the scale so big and the resources are not unlimited, some form of prioritisation is necessary.
"Our enforcement policy is aimed first at protecting public safety and second at containing and reducing the size of the problem," said Mr Cheng.
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He pointed out that, since the current policy was introduced in 1988 after extensive public consultation, the policy had been working satisfactorily in containing the problem.
This was reflected by the following performance indicators:
About 140,000 UBW of all types had been cleared and the Buildings Department is maintaining the momentum at a vigorous rate of clearing 20,000 items a year.
The figure of compliance with demolition orders had tripled from about 2,200 to 6,400 during the same period.
Notwithstanding the increase in population and buildings over these years, the policy had maintained its deterrent effect. This was reflected in the number of complaints made to the Buildings Department being remained at a steady level of 7,000 a year.
The number of inspections made by Buildings Department staff had almost doubled, from 11,000 in 1988 to 21,000 in 1994.
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