Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1965-1966 — Page 15

thereunder, which replaced the Emergency Regulations previous in force. The Ordinance defines a squatter as 'any person who occupies any land without lawful authority or without the consent of the person entitled to the beneficial occupation of such land', and goes on to define an unlawful structure. The main provisions of Part II of the Ordinance empower a Competent Authority to clear squatters and unlawful structures from Crown land, and confer certain powers upon him in respect of Crown land held on lease or permit. Under this part of the Ordinance the Commissioner for Resettlement is the Competent Authority for the Urban Areas (including New Kowloon) and Tsuen Wan; for the rest of the New Territories (except New Kowloon) the Competent Authority is the District Commissioner, while the General Manager of the Kowloon-Canton Railway is the Competent Authority for railway land. Part III deals with the screening of persons before resettlement, the Commissioner for Resettlement being the Competent Authority for the whole Colony. Parts IV and V are concerned respectively with the letting and management of resettlement estates and resettlement factory areas, and of cottage resettlement areas. The Com- petent Authorities for these sections are the Commissioner for Resettle- ment in respect of the New Territories, and the Urban Council for Hong Kong Island, Kowloon and New Kowloon. Appendix II summarizes the provisions of each part of the Ordinance and the Com- petent Authorities exercising powers under them in the various parts of the Colony.

24. During the year, the Legislative Council passed extensive amend- ments of the Ordinance. A new section 35A was introduced into Part IV to establish the rent advance scheme whereby former tenants of buildings declared dangerous may obtain priority for resettlement by paying a lump sum in advance of rent, offset by reductions in rent over a period of 125 months. Other amendments in this part of the Ordinance make it clear that resettlement factory areas come within its ambit and em- power the competent authority to control private sanitation companies operating in estates. A new Part VA provides for the establishment and control of Classes I and II resite areas, in which persons who are genuinely homeless may occupy land at a fee of $4 and $3 a month respectively. Class I areas are intended for persons with a high priority for resettlement, including those contributing to the Rent Advance Scheme, for whom accommodation in an estate is not immediately available when they come homeless. The opportunity was taken to introduce a number of other minor amendments.

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