ENG-1962 — Page 230

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LAND AND HOUSING

living in stone cottages, many of which were constructed with the assistance of welfare organizations. The Resettlement Depart- ment took over the administration of the village as an additional cottage area in 1961. Following a survey of the area and its population a number of improvements have been introduced or are under consideration. A full-time staff of labourers recruited in the village is employed on the cleansing of the area, incinerators and public lavatories have been constructed in different parts of the village, and work on the provision of a piped water supply has started. In addition, a considerable amount of work has been done to improve paths, bridges and drainage, and chlorination of all wells and streams is carried out regularly.

Squatter clearances. During the year 65,234 persons were cleared from land required for development. All genuine occupants were resettled, mostly in the 28 new multi-storey blocks completed and handed over by the Public Works Department in 1962. A small number went into new cottages. In all the 1962 clearances 772.08 acres of land were cleared. Owing to the scarcity of land within the urban area it is becoming increasingly necessary to clear areas further afield for new resettlement estates. Such extensive schemes included areas in Yau Tong, So Mo Ping, Tsz Wan Shan and Tai Wo Hau, Tsuen Wan. The Tung Tau Resettle- ment Estate is also being extended. Owing to the extremely overcrowded conditions in the squatters huts to be cleared for this estate, 19,000 people are being resettled mainly from one or two-storey buildings on the 17 acre site in order to provide accommodation for only 13,000.

Reclamation schemes are reducing the number of sheltered anchorages and it has become necessary to start resettling about 5,000 boat squatters, on condition that they demolish their boats. In all 9,130 boat squatters in seriously congested typhoon anchorages were also resettled during the year subject to the same condition. This is the beginning of a programme for moving all squatter boats from typhoon shelters. Apart from occupying space in the anchorages and possibly excluding fishing and other working boats in times of typhoon, these boats constitute a serious health risk. Cultivators who lose their land and livelihood through clearance for development are given financial compensation and