Should controls on village houses be tightened?
It is alarming to learn that a large area of trees was illegally felled near Tai Mong Tsai in Sai Kung ('Concern over building permits after trees felled', January 7).
This was done, apparently, to build village houses, permitted under the Small House Policy, where male indigenous villagers aged 18 or above can apply to build a small house once in their lifetime.
Although only low-density residential developments, such as three-storey houses, are generally permitted in rural areas, the continuous issuing of building permits will eventually erode all the natural environment.
This is unacceptable as it puts in jeopardy the ecological balance.
However, I accept that scrapping the policy could provoke an outcry and, therefore, I suggest the government makes an environmental impact assessment a mandatory requirement in all rural area developments, no matter how small the project is.
Furthermore, the benchmark of the assessment should be raised significantly to minimise the impact. Nowadays, most of these so-called assessment submissions are nothing more than a rubber-stamp exercise. This must change.