XN000022-1990-05-12 — Page 3

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