Crack down on illegal buildings, Legco committee urges Hong Kong government in scathing report
Scathing report by oversight committee also says Flying Service should fix staffing problem that has made it late to numerous emergencies
The Legislative Council's public accounts oversight body yesterday attacked the government over its inefficiency in removing illegal structures, as well as an ongoing manpower shortage in the Government Flying Service that has made it late to respond to emergency calls.
The legislature's Public Accounts Committee revealed in a report released yesterday that the number of illegal structures had risen by 67 per cent over the past decade while removals had dropped by 45 per cent.
Elsewhere in its report, the committee urged the government to review the Government Flying Service's manpower shortage, and suggested the service should outsource some of its less urgent duties.
The committee, which examines city audit reports, was weighing in on an Audit Commission finding from April that criticised the Buildings Department for its lack of urgency in removing illegal structures. Yesterday's report revealed new figures to show just how slow that enforcement had been.
It said the annual number of reported unauthorised structures had increased from 24,577 in 2004 to 41,146 last year, but the number of those removed had decreased from 41,210 to 22,866 over the same 10-year period.
Unauthorised buildings can include a wide variety of illegal construction such as flats subdivided without city approval, structures on rooftops and illegal signs. The department is in charge of investigating and removing such structures.
