Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1967-1968 — Page 12

The programme for clearing the old resite areas maintained its impetus, nearly 41,000 people being resettled from these areas compared with 46,000 during 1966-67. The resite arca population dropped over the year from 50,000 to 6,600, while 29,000 people (nearly one-third of these being the squatters at Tai Wo Hau referred to in the previous paragraph) were given sites in Class I and II licensed areas, and in one old resite

arca.

15. Fewer buildings were condemned as dangerous than in 1966–67, with 8,500 occupants registering with the Resettlement Department compared with 12,400 during the previous year. Of these, over 3,000 elected to join the Rent Advance Scheme and obtain immediate resettle- ment, a considerably higher proportion than in the previous year.

16. In October a ceremony was held to commemorate the resettlement of the millionth person under the resettlement programme (estates and cottage areas), which was attended by His Excellency the Governor and many other distinguished guests.

17. Although only one new estate, at Ngau Tau Kok, was opened during the period under review, the building rate continued at a higher level than in 1966-67 and the number of resettlement blocks completed by the Public Works Department and handed over to the Resettlement Department provided accommodation for over 130,000 persons, which is the highest figure so far achieved in any one year. This brought the number of residential blocks managed by the Department from 422 to 453, of which 213 were of the improved Marks III–V designs (the different types of Mark are explained in Chapter 6). The first Mark V blocks were taken over in August; in the previous month the population of a single estate (Tsz Wan Shan) passed the 100,000 mark for the first time. Design work started on a new Mark VI block which will enable initial allocations to be made, as recommended by the Housing Board, at about 35 square feet for cach adult, a significant improvement on present standards. The proportion of the estate population of 967,184 living in rooms of more modern design continued to rise rapidly, and by the end of the year it was over 40%. The number of people living in cottage areas (72,986) showed little change over the year, with clearances being offset by natural increase and by the addition of a new cottage area at Fo Tan, in the New Territories. Nearly $62 million was recovered in rents during the year, including water charges and rates, of which only 0.05% has had to be written off as irrecoverable arrears.

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