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HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
ment to expand this programme which again has met with such great public response.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI :—Mr. Chairman, I do not want to speak on the Progress Report for 1968-69, but I would comment that in future years, could this Report be referred to the various Select Committees? Resettlement in particular. I am afraid that I do not understand one part of the Progress Report, and another part I do not agree with. I think it more appropriate if it were referred to the various Select Committees before being tabled as the Progress Report of this Council.
CHAIRMAN: --By way of clarification, Mr. BERNACCHI, this point was raised last year, and this year we again made the point when we sent out the draft that if anyone had any comments or wished to take it to the Select Committees, they were quite free to do so.
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN:—Mr. Chairman, may I take this opportunity to compliment the Department on the preparation of this Progress Report which is 35 pages long in single line. I hope that all Members have had the opportunity to read the Report line by line. It is, I believe, of growing interest to members of the public, and particularly to those members of the public who are living in the ten city districts. Perhaps it would be a good idea, Mr. Chairman, in view of the growing interest in local administration in Hong Kong, for the City District Offices to receive copies of this Report in Chinese and for them to have copies distributed among interested bodies and groups within their respective districts. We would also hope that, as a result of such dissemination of the Urban Council's Progress Report, there would be greater interest in local government in Hong Kong, and that if there should be any suggestions and views arising from such discussions at the City District level, then this Council would be able to benefit thereby.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI:—I rise on a point of clarification. My point was that if the Progress Report is referred to the various Select Committees, part by part, as the Statement of Aims is referred to the various Select Committees, part by part, a clearer Progress Report could possibly be obtained. I am not saying that I contradict what Mr. Hilton CHEONG-LEEN has just said about the magnificent work that has obviously been put into this Progress Report, but I am saying that a similar procedure should be adopted as with the Statement of Aims, namely, refer it to the various Select Committees first.
QUESTIONS.
(1) MR. KENNETH T. C. Lo asked the following question:-
(a) What progress has been made in the scheme for conversion of rooms in certain Mark I and Mark II Resettlement Blocks into self-contained units?
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
5
(b) How many rooms in Resettlement Estates do not have their own mains water supply (excluding unauthorized connections)? Would the Commissioner for Resettlement consider installing mains water supply to such rooms, if they are not likely to be affected by any conversion scheme in the near future?
THE CHAIRMAN, in the absence of ACTING COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT, replied as follows:
In answer to the first part of the question, members of the Policy and Management Select Committees have already agreed to the pilot scheme for the conversion to self-contained accommodation (including an individual water supply) of the Mark I block 25 in Wong Tai Sin Estate. Of the 256 families involved, 188 have accepted, or are likely to accept, accommodation at Ngau Tau Kok Estate, while the remaining 68 have accepted rooms in other estates. So far, some 90 families have expressed a tentative interest in returning to block 25 after conversion. Work is expected to start in May and last about 3 or 4 months. The feasibility of a scheme for converting other Mark I and II blocks will be examined, with the appropriate Select Committees, when the results of the pilot scheme can be assessed.
In answer to the second part of the question there are approximately 90,000 rooms in resettlement estates which do not have their own individual water supply. Should the scheme for a general conversion of Mark I and II resettlement blocks seem feasible, then these would, in the process of conversion, be provided with individual supplies. Until the feasibility and extent of such a general conversion scheme can be assessed, however, it would be premature to consider the installation of individual water supplies in the Mark I and II blocks independently of such a scheme. The extent of the drainage and plumbing works required for the old blocks, and the degree of disturbance to tenants involved in the installation of water supplies, would be much greater than is the case with the installations now in progress in the Mark III and later Mark IV blocks.
(2) MRS. E. ELLIOTT asked the following question:-
(a) How many children are at present studying in roof-top schools in Resettlement Estates?
Page 11 of 237
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
ment to expand this programme which again has met with such great public response.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI :—Mr. Chairman, I do not want to speak on the Progress Report for 1968-69, but I would comment that in future years, could this Report be referred to the various Select Committees? Resettlement in particular. I am afraid that I do not understand one part of the Progress Report, and another part I do not agree with. I think it more appropriate if it were referred to the various Select Com- mittees before being tabled as the Progress Report of this Council.
CHAIRMAN: --By way of clarification, Mr. BERNACCHI, this point was raised last year, and this year we again made the point when we sent out the draft that if anyone had any comments or wished to take it to the Select Committees, they were quite free to do so.
MR. HILTON CHEONG-LEEN:-Mr. Chairman, may I take this opportunity to compliment the Department on the preparation of this Progress Report which is 35 pages long in single line. I hope that all Members have had the opportunity to read the Report line by line. It is, I believe, of growing interest to members of the public, and partic- ularly to those members of the public who are living in the ten city districts. Perhaps it would be a good idea, Mr. Chairman, in view of the growing interest in local administration in Hong Kong, for the City District Offices to receive copies of this Report in Chinese and for them to have copies distributed among interested bodies and groups within their respective districts. We would also hope that, as a result of such dissemination of the Urban Council's Progress Report, there would be greater interest in local government in Hong Kong, and that if there should be any suggestions and views arising from such discussions at the City District level, then this Council would be able to benefit thereby.
MR. B. A. BERNACCHI:---I rise on a point of clarification. My point was that if the Progress Report is referred to the various Select Com- mittees, part by part, as the Statement of Aims is referred to the various Select Committees, part by part, a clearer Progress Report could possibly be obtained. I am not saying that I contradict what Mr. Hilton CHEONG-LEEN has just said about the magnificent work that has obviously been put into this Progress Report, but I am saying that a similar procedure should be adopted as with the Statement of Aims, namely, refer it to the various Select Committees first.
QUESTIONS.
(1) MR. KENNETH T. C. Lo asked the following question:-
(a) What progress has been made in the scheme for conver- sion of rooms in certain Mark I and Mark II Resettlement Blocks into self-contained units?
HONG KONG URBAN COUNCIL
5
(b) How many rooms in Resettlement Estates do not have their own mains water supply (excluding unauthorized connections)? Would the Commissioner for Resettlement consider installing mains water supply to such rooms, if they are not likely to be affected by any conversion scheme in the near future?
THE CHAIRMAN, in the absence of ACTING COMMISSIONER FOR RESETTLEMENT, replied as follows:
In answer to the first part of the question, members of the Policy and Management Select Committees have already agreed to the pilot scheme for the conversion to self- contained accommodation (including an individual water supply) of the Mark I block 25 in Wong Tai Sin Estate. Of the 256 families involved, 188 have accepted, or are likely to accept, accommodation at Ngau Tau Kok Estate, while the remaining 68 have accepted rooms in other estates. So far, some 90 families have expressed a tenta- tive interest in returning to block 25 after conversion. Work is expected to start in May and last about 3 or 4 months. The feasibility of a scheme for converting other Mark I and II blocks will be examined, with the appro- priate Select Committees, when the results of the pilot scheme can be assessed.
In answer to the second part of the question there are approxi- mately 90,000 rooms in resettlement estates which do not have their own individual water supply. Should the scheme for a general conversion of Mark I and II resettle- ment blocks seem feasible, then these would, in the process of conversion, be provided with individual supplies. Until the feasibility and extent of such a general conversion scheme can be assessed, however, it would be premature to consider the installation of individual water supplies in the Mark I and II blocks independently of such a scheme. The extent of the drainage and plumbing works required for the old blocks, and the degree of disturbance to tenants involved in the installation of water supplies, would be much greater than is the case with the installa- tions now in progress in the Mark III and later Mark IV blocks.
(2) MRS. E. ELLIOTT asked the following question:-
(a) How many children are at present studying in roof-top
schools in Resettlement Estates?
No comments yet.
Private notes are available after approval.