ENG-2006 — Page 279

Land, Public Works and Utilities 231

The department's work in identifying those people who are responsible for the maintenance of registered man-made slopes is continuing. The results of this probe are contained in a Slope Maintenance Responsibility Information System which is published on the Lands Department website so that members of the public can find out who is responsible for the maintenance of any specific registered man-made slope.

The Lands Department is responsible for maintaining about 17 700 man-made slopes. The Slope Maintenance Section of the Lands Department, with the help of private consultants, carries out regular inspections of these slopes and employs contractors to carry out routine maintenance and stabilisation works. The works are prioritised according to the level of risk posed to life and properties in the event of landslides. During 2006, routine work was carried out on 6 400 slopes and stabilisation work on 114 slopes.

The Lands Department administers the Small House Policy for indigenous villagers in the New Territories. District Lands Offices give indigenous villagers permission to build small houses and approve the rebuilding of old village houses. They also issue short-term tenancies, short-term waivers or government land licences for rebuilding temporary domestic structures. The department is also responsible for processing rent exemption requisitions for indigenous villagers' rural properties in accordance with the exemption criteria of the Government Rent (Assessment and Collection) Ordinance. During the year, 1 057 applications for the building of small houses and 174 applications for the rebuilding of old village houses were processed.

The Lands Department acts against illegal occupants of government land under the Land (Miscellaneous Provisions) Ordinance and the Summary Offences Ordinance. The ordinances permit it to take enforcement action against unauthorised occupation, excavation, cultivation or other forms of trespass on government land. The department can take offenders to court. The department also participates in joint efforts to control the spread of dengue fever and Japanese encephalitis by removing overgrown vegetation and stagnant water on government land. During the year it carried out such work on 1 940 occasions. In addition, 885 warning letters were sent to leaseholders, mainly to stop them from using land without authorisation or for breaches of lease conditions.

The Lands Department, in collaboration with the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department, continues to operate the scheme for the display of non- commercial publicity materials or banners at 21 988 designated spots in public places.

Government Conveyancing

The Legal Advisory and Conveyancing Office of the Lands Department provides legal services to the Lands Department as well as other government departments in respect of all government land transactions and associated matters. It is responsible for the drafting of all government land disposal, lease modification and acquisition. documents, and the apportionment and recovery of arrears of government rents by