In the past, the government used the "Land Resumption Ordinance" to recover the land of the ancestral hall. In addition to the compensation for the land resumption, it will also issue ex-gratia compensation, but from time to time there will be cases of unclaimed compensation.
In response to a question in the Legislative Council today (20th), the Secretary for Home Affairs, Xu Yingwei, mentioned that the compensation for land resumption from the ancestral hall, which has been withheld for various reasons since 1997, has involved more than $2.2 billion.
Xu Yingwei denies "dragging words"
Liu Yeqiang, chairman of the Heung Yee Kuk, asked about the total amount of land resumption compensation paid by the government to the ancestral halls from 1997 to the present; What is the area? What is the total amount of land resumption compensation for unclaimed ancestral halls and the number of ancestral halls involved, and what are the reasons involved.
Xu Yingwei said that the government did not keep the total amount of land resumption compensation paid for the ancestral halls, the vacancy of managerial posts and the total number of such ancestral halls. In particular, once the manager is vacant, the Civil Affairs Bureau may not be notified.
Generally speaking, the Lands Department will also make compensation proposals to the owner before land resumption. However, if the ancestral hall is involved and there is a lack of management, it is difficult for the government to establish who holds the land title securely.
760 million did not receive due to ancestral hall management issues, and another 1.45 billion was involved
As for the compensation that was not received due to the absence of part or all of the manager of the ancestral hall, as of September 27, 2021, it involved about 400 million yuan and 49 ancestral halls; because the members of the ancestral hall objected to the manager's collection of compensation, and In the end, the compensation that was not received will involve approximately 360 million yuan and 21 ancestral halls as of September 27, 2021.
In addition to the management of the ancestral halls, the compensation that was not received due to other reasons such as title appeals involved about 1.45 billion yuan and 149 ancestral halls.
Liu Yeqiang pointed out that the total amount of compensation that has not been received due to the above three reasons is about 2.21 billion yuan. How does the government handle it and whether there is a time limit for receiving it.
Xu Yingwei stated that he must deal with many administrative issues first, such as clarifying powers, and emphasized that the money will not be confiscated.
Xu Yingwei also emphasized that the Home Affairs Bureau is not adopting a "dragging strategy". In the next year, it will review the current management model of the ancestral hall with the Development Bureau and the Heung Yee Kuk, and conduct research on the premise of respecting the traditions of the ancestral hall and protecting the reasonable rights and interests of members. The proposed amendments to the draft of the New Territories Land Ordinance.
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