HAWKER CENTRES UPGRADING PROGRAMME

HAWKER CENTRES UPGRADING PROGRAMME

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(Ex-gratia payments): **

2.

Mr Liang Eng Hwa asked the Minister for the Environment and Water Resources (a) what is the number and amount of ex-gratia payments made to the first-generation stallholders who have been affected by the Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme since its inception; (b) what is the rationale for not according the next-of-kin who took over the stall after July 1992 the same treatment as first-generation stallholders; (c) whether his Ministry and NEA have been flexible in handling cases where the stallholders are the elderly spouse of the deceased first-generation stallholders; and (d) what is the number of disputes since the programme was introduced.

Assoc. Prof. Dr Yaacob Ibrahim: In 1989, the Government decided to offer ex-gratia cash grants to stallholders located in centres affected by HDB's redevelopment programme as a gesture of goodwill. Apart from the first-generation stallholders who were resettled from the streets, the cash grant was also extended to family members who took over the stall tenancy from these stallholders.

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In July 1992, the Government decided to limit the ex-gratia cash grant to only first-generation stallholders. This was to ensure that those who take over the stall tenancies from the first-generation stallholders are genuinely interested in carrying on with the business and not seeking to benefit from the cash grant eventually. These stallholders continue to enjoy subsidised rent.

This policy has been applied consistently to all cases, regardless of the age of the stallholders involved so as to be fair to all stallholders. Those taking over stalls from first-generation stallholders are also informed of this policy before they take over.

When the Hawker Centres Upgrading Programme (HUP) was introduced in 2001, the Government decided to offer first-generation stallholders, who prefer to exit the trade rather than continue at a stall in an alternative centre, the ex-gratia cash grant, even though HUP does not involve the clearance of stallholders. To date, some 2,000 eligible stallholders were paid a total of $40 million in ex-gratia cash grant.

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