ENG-1977 — Page 149

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HOUSING AND LAND

Transit Centres The authority also provides short-term accommodation in transit centres for people made homeless by fires or natural disasters. Because of the increased calls on tem- porary housing during the year, it was necessary to use transit centres to accommodate some people waiting for space in temporary housing areas. Two additional centres were opened, increasing total capacity to about 2,500 people. A programme of im- provements, including the provision of partitions, additional electric power points and ceiling fans in older centres, also was initiated.

Squatter Control

In Asia, and many other parts of the world, one consequence of rapid population growth and increasing urbanisation has been the proliferation of squatter areas in and around major cities. In Hong Kong, almost all unused Crown land is occupied by huts. The squatter problem has been tackled since the early 1950s by clearing ^ squatters only when the land they occupy is required for permanent development, and concentrating control measures aimed at preventing new squatting in areas required for future development. Coupled with a massive programme of public housing for low-income families, this policy aims at a gradual and steady reduction in the amount of squatting. Evidence of the soundness of this approach was provided by the 1976 Squatter Survey, which showed that squatter population in the urban areas, plus Tsuen Wan district, had been reduced by 137,000 since the last survey was made in 1964.

The primary purpose of squatter control is to contain the growth of new squatting on Crown land either by preventing the erection of new structures or by demolishing them as soon as possible after building starts. In 1976, a General Squatter Survey was carried out in the urban areas and in the Tsuen Wan district to create a new baseline for more effective squatter control, and to extend eligibility for ex-gratia allowance or factory reprovisioning on clearance to previously unsurveyed squatter shops and workshops. At the same time, the Executive Council approved a revised squatter control policy whereby certain areas susceptible to new squatting were designated as intensive patrol areas to be patrolled daily.

During the year, 8,882 new huts and illegal extensions to surveyed huts were demolished by the Squatter Control Division in the urban areas and Tsuen Wan district. The number demolished in 1976 was almost twice that figure, indicating a marked reduction in the pressure to squat.

As Hong Kong's economy emerged from the recession of the previous two years, the government accelerated its development of the infrastructure and many projects that had been deferred were added to the 1976–7 programme. Coupled with the recovery of private development activity, this meant that the demand for land clear- ances was considerably increased and altogether, 434 hectares were cleared, compared with 256 hectares in 1976.

Only squatters occupying structures surveyed in 1964 are eligible for direct public housing on clearance, while occupants of post-1964 huts are provided with temporary housing. Development clearances during the year involved the rehousing of 12,776 people in permanent public housing and a further 15,547 in temporary housing. A further 5,824 people were cleared from dangerous buildings, buildings involved in urban renewal, temporary housing areas and structures involved in natural disasters. Of these, 4,550 were allocated permanent housing and the balance temporary housing.