New Territories residents rush to declare illegal structures

New Territories residents have submitted

about 500 declarations of illegal structures in the past week, as a government deadline of the end of this month to come clean about "less risky" installations in village houses approaches.

The rush of declarations means a total of 800 submissions have now been made to the Buildings Department.

An appeal was launched in June for owners to register structures that do not pose an immediate danger to public safety, such as small canopies and unenclosed rooftop installations covering less than half of the roof.

Despite the late surge, the number falls far short of rural authority the Heung Yee Kuk's earlier estimate that 35,000 village houses have illegal structures. This suggests many villagers are still adopting a wait-and-see attitude, three weeks before the deadline.

"They are afraid the government would ask them to remove their structures in the future," Democratic Party district councillor Au Chun-wah told a Tai Po district council meeting yesterday, reflecting concerns the scheme was a ruse for officials to collect evidence.

"But I'm thinking the opposite. Only those who do not report their structures may be issued with a demolition order."

He said a professional safety check should cost only a few thousand dollars.