1964 — Page 268

312

Page 268 of 312

510

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

MR. BERNACCHI :-May I ask when a tenement is to be demolished, are the rooftop squatters moved to what will become a transit area, or what will become a licensed area?

COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:- A resite area at present, or what will become a licensed area.

(At this point Mr. Wilfred S. B. WONG entered the meeting)

MR. BERNACCHI-Is that altogether fair in that at least the tenants of a building have received compensation and that was the difference that the Government made? I do not agree with it because the rooftop squatters do not receive any compensation.

COMMISSIONER for ResettlemENT:-I think perhaps I should say two things. The concept of differentiating a transit from a licensed area is a fairly recent one. Secondly, since the concept was conceived, such resite areas as are suitably located centrally and so on as to become transit centres, have been extremely full. The pressure of people coming out from dangerous buildings has been such that it would not be easy for the Resettlement Department to allocate places to people from exempted premises.

MR. BERNACCHI:-Could further consideration be given to this question?

COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT:-Certainly, Sir. I think it would be a good idea.

MR. CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, may I thank the Commis- sioner, through you, for having established a precedent of answering questions in regard to resettlement in Tsuen Wan. (Laughter). I am sure that the Unofficial Members of this Council will hope and expect that it will continue in practice.

(6) MR. H. CHEONG-LEEN asked the following question:-

(a) A number of residents in resettlement estates have advised me that there is much wastage of tap water in the resettle- ment estates, particularly in the Wong Tai Sin, Kwun Tong, Ngau Tau Kok, and Shek Kip Mei Estates. Can the Commissioner for Resettlement confirm that this is the case?

(b) Is the Commissioner aware that many of the public taps and water-pipes in the estates are in a state of disrepair, and are in need of immediate repair if wastage of water is to be brought under control?

HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL

511

(c) Since my letter dated 28th December, 1964 to the Com- missioner on this subject, what action has been taken by the Department to reduce this wastage of precious water?

THE COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT replied as follows:-

In answer to the first part of the question, I regret that it is quite correct that there is some wastage of water at public taps, mostly in the older estates. There are normally two or four public taps on each floor of each resettlement block. In order to save water, we converted a few years ago to the self-returning spring-loaded type of tap. Un- fortunately, many tenants have taken to tying a piece of wood across the button so as to keep it pressed in in- definitely. Worse still, at peak periods of use, no one bothers to release the button again. The taps also some- times jam at the "on" position if roughly used.

As regards the second part of the question, I think that the complaint may relate to conditions over the Christmas holidays and not to all estates all the time. Apart from misuse by the tenants, it is inevitable that, from time to time, the public taps and water pipes need repair, since they suffer from fairly heavy wear and tear. There is a system for carrying out repairs rapidly and effectively which normally works well. Unfortunately, the Works Section which is responsible for repairs and maintenance in resettlement estates, happens to have a number of vacancies in the foreman and artisan grades which are in the process of being filled and, over the Christmas holi- days, repairs to taps could not always be carried out as quickly as they should. I have also reached the conclu- sion that the manning scale of the Works Section is in- adequate and have applied for approval of an improved manning scale, to be introduced next financial year.

In reply to the last part of the question, I have already instruct- ed all officers-in-charge of estates to ensure that their staff make a point of checking the public taps for wastage of water, at the same time releasing any spring-loaded taps which they find tied down. But I must add that, in an ordinary 7-storey Mark I or II block, there are usually 14 or 28 public taps, and it is not possible to maintain a permanent watch on each tap in each block. Notices in Chinese will shortly be fixed on the wall at each water point, requesting tenants not to tie down spring-loaded taps; not to waste water; and to report defective taps at once to the officer-in-charge.