Resettlement_Department_Annual_Report_1971-1972 — Page 27

accommodation provided for them at Pak Tin Government Estate before the end of 1972.

MANAGEMENT

48. Under Part IV of the Resettlement Ordinance, the Urban Council has been appointed the competent authority for the manage- ment of estates in the urban area. This authority is delegated to the Resettlement Management Select Committee (renamed Resettlement Select Committee on 24th February, 1972), which has in turn delegated the day-to-day management of estates to the Commissioner for Resettle- ment and his staff. However the Select Committee is consulted on any matters involving changes of policy, and also hears appeals against the department's decisions. In the New Territories the Commissioner for Resettlement has been appointed as the competent authority under this part of the Ordinance.

49. The key figure in the management of the 25 estates is the Group Resettlement Officer. During 1971-72 there were 17 of these officers, each administering one or two estates of about 14,000 tenancies. They are responsible for the day-to-day management of the estates under their charge, for seeing that management policies are correctly applied by the estate staff, and for dealing with all difficult cases. They are also responsible for all local liaison arrangements with other Government departments. Apart from giving individual attention to particular tenancy problems, these officers have to devote much time in planning and carrying out operations against illegal hawker structures and keeping the estates clean and tidy.

50. Under the existing manning scale, each small estate, or section of a large estate, of 5,000 tenancies, is under the immediate charge of an Assistant Resettlement Officer. The manning scale for Resettlement Assistants is one to 535 tenancies, but one experienced Resettlement Assistant acts as second-in-command in charge of general administra- tion; and others are responsible for specialized duties in sanitation, administration and rent collection.

51. This means that the block officers, i.c., Resettlement Assistants, are each responsible for 800-1,000 tenancies and a population of about 4,000 made up from two Mark I or II blocks or three Mark III blocks, or one Mark IV or V block. These officers are required to patrol their blocks for four hours every day, and to inspect each room once a month. Their basic function includes making sure that the buildings and their fittings are kept in good repair. However, their more difficult

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