The ups and downs of living with illegal structures in the NT
So villagers in the New Territories think they should be compensated for taking down the illegal structures on their houses? They also think they should be allowed to beat a three-storey restriction and build six-storey houses.
You might think these demands would be dismissed as the ravings of a lunatic fringe. But the villagers have the support of the Heung Yee Kuk which is arguing villagers should be allowed to pay to keep their illegal structures. The Kuk is threatening 'drastic action' if agreement isn't reached with the government on the issue.
At a meeting on Tuesday between the Kuk and 500 villagers, there were dark threats against the Ombudsman whose recent report criticised the government's lax attitude towards illegal structures. Chinese-language newspapers reported that villagers at the meeting said that perhaps 'he should go west', meaning he should die. Despite these thuggish threats we doubt the government will follow the Ombudsman's recommendations.
The Kuk is a staunch government supporter and for its part, the government has for years turned a blind eye to the illegal structures in the New Territories. It has also put off doing anything about the small house policy which grants the sons of indigenous families the right to build a 2,100 square foot house - in effect handing them a huge capital windfall that is not available to other sections of the community.
But as the protests against the budget demonstrated - if people are prepared to object strongly enough then the government will cave in. So the nonsense in the New Territories is likely to continue.
