Thursday, November 22, 1973
POLICY REGARDING REHOUSING OF DISASTER VICTIMS CLARIFIED
The Housing Department today explained the policy which is the
basis for deciding whether victims of fires or natural disasters in
squatter areas are eligible for public housing or a site in a Licensed
Area.
A spokesman said there had been a number of enquiries about
the matter since last Thursday's fire in Kowloon Bay.
Establishing eligibility, he said, was often a complicated
business, but generally speaking public housing was offered to people
who were living in structures recorded during the 1964 general survey
or who had Licensed Area permits.
Illegal squatters who were genuine victims of a fire were offered
new sites in a Licensed Area. Most of the Kowloon Bay disaster people
fell into this category.
The spokesman said that confusion often arose after a big blaze
when impostors mingled with fire victims in the hope of getting a new site
or cash relief.
When this sort of situation arose it was necessary to conduct a
site identity exercise like the one on Wednesday so that genuine cases
could point out on the ground where their former homes had stood. In this
way many impostors were weeded out.
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