************************************************************
Following is a question by the Hon Wu Chi-wai and a written reply by the Secretary for the Environment, Mr Wong Kam-sing, in the Legislative Council today (April 24) :
Questions:
Regarding the law enforcement work against illegal tree-felling, fly-tipping or illegal occupation of government land, as well as unauthorised developments on government and private land, will the Government inform this Council:
(a) of the manpower deployed by the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) to patrol country parks and special areas to prevent illegal tree-felling and fly-tipping, as well as the number of patrol conducted (with a breakdown by country park and special area) in each of the past three financial years;
(b) of the amount of fines and the number of trees felled in each of the 19 convicted cases of illegal tree-felling in country park areas in the past three financial years, and whether the authorities had sought the advice of the Department of Justice on those cases in which the penalties imposed were too lenient and considered lodging appeals; if so, of the details;
(c) of the number of complaints about illegal tree-felling outside country park areas in each of the past three financial years; the respective numbers of relevant prosecution and convicted cases, as well as the details of each case (including the amounts of fines);
(d) of the law enforcement procedures to be followed by AFCD when it detects fly-tipping in country parks and special areas; as the authorities have indicated that no prosecution case could be concluded in the past two financial years due to lack of sufficient evidence, of the relevant details;
(e) among the 17 cases of illegal occupation of country park land which had been referred by AFCD to the Lands Department (LandsD) for follow-up in the past two financial years, of the respective numbers of prosecution and convicted cases, as well as the details of each case;
(f) as it was reported that LandsD had approved the building of two New Territories small houses (small houses) on a site in Shan Pui Tsuen, Yuen Long, which had been formed by illegal pond filling, but the Planning Department (PlanD) had pointed out that building small houses on that site constituted an unauthorised development and requested the owner to reinstate the site, of the reasons why LandsD still granted approval for building small houses on that site when PlanD had pointed out that building small houses there constituted an unauthorised development; whether the authorities have assessed if this case will encourage more people to engage in illegal land developments; of the number of similar cases reported to the authorities in each of the past three financial years (with a breakdown by District Council district); and
(g) apart from proceeding with the legislative work for amendments to section 16A of the Waste Disposal Ordinance (Cap. 354) to curb fly-tipping, whether the authorities have plans to review and amend the relevant legislation to curb illegal tree-felling and land developments, so as to strengthen the deterrent effect against such illegal activities?
Reply:
President,
(a) The enforcement actions of the Agriculture, Fisheries and Conservation Department (AFCD) against unauthorised tree felling and illegal fly-tipping have been incorporated into regular country parks patrol. A team of 120 staff was deployed to patrol and protect country parks and special areas. The frequency and manpower of patrol varied from daily to monthly in different country parks depending on the popularity and distance of the location/site.
(b) Details of the 19 convicted cases of illegal tree-felling in country park areas are set out in Table 1.
The prosecution is carried out by the AFCD in accordance with Regulation 8(1) of the Country Parks and Special Areas Regulations (Cap 208A) and Section 21(d) of the Forests and Countryside Ordinance (Cap 96). The AFCD has not carried out any appeals on the convictions.
(c) Details of the information regarding illegal tree felling outside country parks are set out in Table 2.
(d) The enforcement against fly-tipping was taken under the Waste Disposal Ordinance (Cap 354). The AFCD staff, if apprehended offender at scene, would collect personal particulars of the offenders and all site evidence related to the fly-tipping at scene. The AFCD staff would then forward the full set of documents with witness report of the AFCD staff at scene to the Environmental Protection Department for follow-up prosecution. However, as most of the dumping sites were remote and no suspected offenders could be identified, there was no successful prosecution. The AFCD will continue to step-up patrol, including night patrol, at black spots of fly-tipping within country parks to stop the irregularity.
(e) The AFCD will refer cases of unlawful occupation of land in country parks in which no fly-tipping is involved to the District Lands Offices (DLOs) concerned for follow up action as appropriate. According to the Lands Department's (LandsD) records, AFCD referred a total of six cases to LandsD for follow up action in the past two financial years. They were mainly suspected cases of constructing unlawful access and excavation. The DLOs concerned have already taken appropriate land control action, including erection of "Government Land" notice boards. No prosecution was involved in these cases.
(f) The illegal pond filling activity as quoted by Member from the media report was located in Shan Pui Village, Yuen Long. In August 2012, the Planning Department (PlanD), in accordance with the Town Planning Ordinance (TPO), issued an Enforcement Notice (EN) to the parties concerned requiring for termination of the unauthorised development on the relevant lot. Subsequently, PlanD conducted site inspection which revealed that such unauthorised development had been terminated. In November 2012, PlanD took further action to issue a Reinstatement Notice (RN) to the parties concerned, in accordance with the TPO. The notice recipients had already carried out reinstatement works as required by the RN. The Planning Authority is now monitoring the site conditions.
Moreover, even though the small house development as quoted by the media report and the illegal pond filling activity were both located in Shan Pui Tsuen, the lots involved were in fact different. In 2009, the DLO/Yuen Long (DLO/YL) received applications for the small house development concerned. DLO/YL processed the applications according to the established procedures, including consultations with PlanD and other relevant departments. Having regard to the fact that the development of New Territories exempted houses (including small houses) was always a permitted use in "village-type development" zones, PlanD did not object to such applications. Site inspections were also conducted by DLO/YL, confirming that the lots under application were flat land. Since no objection was received from the relevant departments or the local community, DLO/YL granted building licences for the development of two small houses in July 2012. When these two small house applications were being processed by DLO, there was no outstanding EN issued by PlanD concerning the lots under application.
In general, when processing a small house application, the relevant DLO checks the land lease concerned, inspects the condition of the land under application to consider whether the proposed small house can be built on that land, and consults the relevant departments. If no objection is received from the relevant departments, DLO will continue to process the application. Apart from complying with the small house policy and the relevant lease conditions, the proposed small house development shall also comply with the relevant ordinances and other applicable government requirements. If the proposed development fails to comply with the TPO and the relevant outline zoning plan, an application for planning permission should be made to the Town Planning Board (TPB) under the TPO. Approval from the TPB shall be obtained before the commencement of the development.
In the past three financial years, none of the small house applications concerning private lots received by DLOs involved outstanding EN issued by PlanD.
(g) The AFCD regularly reviews the Country Parks Ordinance and the Forests and Countryside Ordinance, including its penalty level against illegal tree felling within and outside Country Parks. The AFCD will continue its efforts in patrol and the enforcement of legislation to protect country parks.
Also, under the TPO, the Planning Authority can take enforcement action against unauthorised developments within the development permission areas in the rural New Territories. PlanD will continue its work on preparation of Development Permission Area Plans/Outline Zoning Plans for rural areas currently not covered by statutory plans as necessary, with a view to stepping up statutory planning control in areas subject to development pressure or susceptible to unauthorised use.
Ends/Wednesday, April 24, 2013
Issued at HKT 16:41
NNNN
