ENG-1976 — Page 158

110

Acquisition for Public Purposes

HOUSING AND LAND

For the implementation of public works projects, acquisition of private prop- erties is sometimes unavoidable. As a rule, surrenders of these private properties are negotiated, although the Crown Lands Resumption Ordinance provides powers of compulsory acquisition for a public purpose. Disagreements on compensation payable are referred for adjudication to the Lands Tribunal, established under the provisions of the Lands Tribunal Ordinance. During the financial year 1975–6 a total of $13 million was paid in compensation.

The Mass Transit (Land Resumption and Related Provisions) Ordinance, enacted at the end of 1974 to meet the special land acquisition needs of the mass transit railway, also allows claims to be adjudicated by the Lands Tribunal.

To carry out land and property valuations and estate management services in Hong Kong and Kowloon, the Crown Lands and Survey Office of the Public Works Department maintains land and valuation branches staffed by professional officers. A records section, recording and analysing all sales and lettings in the urban area, provides monitoring of market trends and factors affecting the value of land and buildings.

Survey

The survey branch of the Crown Lands and Survey Office is responsible for providing a network of trigonometrical stations and bench marks upon which all land and engineering surveys are based, and for the mapping of Hong Kong and the delineation and physical marking of boundaries of lots.

The new photogrammetric unit became operational early in 1976 and a large volume of urgent mapping work arranged in a priority schedule is now in hand. In order to meet the demand, the unit is working on two shifts.

Partial re-observation and re-adjustment of the main and minor triangulation system was completed during the year. Connection of the existing traverse system to the revalued trigonometrical stations was put in hand, as was a programme of levelling to connect bench marks and trigonometrical stations.

The demand for boundary surveys continued and conversion to the metric system for survey was completed. All plans were supplied in metric units unless specifically requested in Imperial units. The option of requesting plans in Imperial units ceased at the end of the year.

:

On the map production side, further progress was made in converting topogra- phic series to metric specifications. There are 12 sheets of the 1:20 000 scale series now available, marking the near completion of this 15-sheet series. Completed during the year was the 'Hong Kong and Islands' volume of the official bilingual guide book. Production of the second volume-'Kowloon and the New Territories'- which will complete the set, is well advanced. The third sheet of the 'Countryside' series-Lantau and Islands-sold out rapidly and a reprint was made.