XN000022-1995-12-06 — Page 35

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Reply:

Mr President,

(a) As a matter of principle, the Government departments or their agents which are responsible for the slopes have the responsibility to clear away the landslide debris arising from those slopes. However, for landslips which occur in squatter areas, the Highways Department (HyD) will be responsible for carrying out emergency repair as recommended by the Geotechnical Engineering Office (GEO) to remove any immediate danger to the public and clear away associated landslide debris in the course of the emergency repair works. For situations not involving emergency or where the emergency no longer exists, there is, at present, no department explicitly responsible for clearing debris from landslides occurring in unallocated government land. However, such cases will be dealt with individually and, wherever necessary, appropriate arrangement will be made in each case considering its particular circumstances.

(b) Trees in squatter areas are not maintained or managed by any government department and consequently there is no routine inspection of such trees.

For trees damaged or affected by a rainstorm which may cause danger to residents in squatter areas, the Police or Fire Services Department staff attending the scene will do what they can to remove the danger. The Agricultural and Fisheries Department (A&FD), the Urban Services Department (USD) and the Regional Services Department (RSD) will also respond to emergency requests to remove dangling branches of trees which may endanger residents in squatter areas.

End