XN000022-1984-01-25 — Page 18

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WEDNESDAY, JANUARY 7, 1984

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IT IS HOPED TO

+SUBJECT TO THE AVAILABILITY OF FUNDS. + IMPLEMENT THESE PROPOSALS SHORTLY, MR CHAN SAID.

HE SAID AS WELL AS THE PROJECTS BEING CARRIED OUT BY THE WATER SUPPLIES DEPARTMENT THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT WAS ALSO CARRYING OUT A $300 MILLION, FIVE-YEAR PROGRAMME OF SQUATTER AREA IMPROVEMENTS, WHICH INCLUDED THE PROVISIONING OF METERED WATER SUPPLIES TO INDIVIDUAL HOUSEHOLDS.

THREE PILOT PROJECTS IN NORTH POINT, SAU MAU PING AND KWUN TONG HAD BEEN SUCCESSFULLY COMPLETED, AND IN THE CURRENT YEAR'S PROGRAMME OF IMPROVEMENTS SIX MORE AREAS, HOUSING OVER 9 000 PEOPLE, WERE BEING DEALT WITH AT A COST OF ABOUT $2 500 PER HEAD.

A FURTHER 18 AREAS WERE INCLUDED IN THE PROGRAMME FOR 1984-85 AT AN ESTIMATED COST OF $55 MILLION AND THE HOUSING DEPARTMENT WAS ALREADY WORKING ON THE PLANS FOR THESE, HE SAID.

ACTION TAKEN AGAINST ILLEGAL HAWKING, FOOD STALLS

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LAST YEAR, OVER 73 000 ARRESTS FOR ILLEGAL HAWKING WERE MADE IN THE URBAN AREA AND OVER 7 000 IN THE NEW TERRITORIES, MOST OF WHICH RESULTED IN SUCCESSFUL PROSECUTION, THE SECRETARY FOR HEALTH AND WELFARE, THE HON HENRY CHING SAID TODAY.

AND PLANS HAVE BEEN MADE TO STRENGTHEN THE GENERAL DUTIES TEAM TO ENABLE ENFORCEMENT ACTION TO BE STEPPED UP, HE TOLD THE LEGISLATIVE COUNCIL, IN REPLY TO QUESTIONS BY THE HON WONG LAM.

DESPITE ENFORCEMENT ACTION, HOWEVER, THERE WERE STILL ABOUT 17 000 HABITUAL ILLEGAL HAWKERS IN THE URBAN AREA AND 2 000 IN THE NEW TERRITORIES, HE ADDED.

THERE WERE ABOUT 3 200 HAWKERS TRADING ILLEGALLY IN MONG KOK AND ABOUT 950 IN THE KWUN TONG TOWN CENTRE.

OPERATIONS WERE REGULARLY CARRIED OUT IN THESE DISTRICTS AND LAST MONTH, 527 ARRESTS FOR HAWKING WERE MADE IN THE KWUN TONG TOWN CENTRE, AND 896 IN MONG KOK, HE SAID.

THE GENERAL DUTIES TEAMS OF THE URBAN SERVICES DEPARTMENT, ASSISTED BY POLICE, CARRY OUT THESE ARREST OPERATIONS, HE SAID.

REPLYING TO THE QUESTION ABOUT ENVIRONMENTAL AND HYGIENE PROBLEMS CAUSED BY COOKED FOOD STALLS IN PRIVATE STREETS AND BACK LANES OF KWUN TONG, MR CHING SAID THAT CLEARANCE OF THESE UNDESIRABLE COOKED FOOD STALLS AND THEIR REPLACEMENT BY PROPERLY DESIGNED, PURPOSE-BUILT COOKED FOOD MARKETS WAS THE ONLY EFFECTIVE MEASURE THAT COULD BE TAKEN.

+THE URBAN COUNCIL HAS A PROGRAMME TO PROVIDE SUCH MARKETS IN KWUN TONG, AND THREE OF THEM WITH A TOTAL OF 93 STALLS WILL BE COMPLETED THIS YEAR, HE SAID.