HAWKERS (Registration and resiting)

Mr P. Govindaswamy asked the Minister for the Environment (a) how many hawkers have been registered and how many of them have been resited; (b) how many cases are still under consideration; and (c) if those hawkers affected at development sites will be granted alternative sites until such time as the developments are completed.

The Minister of State for the Environment (Mr Wee Toon Boon) (for the Minister for the Environment): Mr Speaker, Sir, there are a total of 32,141 registered hawkers. Of this number, 25,915 hawkers are licensed by the Ministry of the Environment, 6,001 are under the register of the Housing and Development Board, and the rest by PSA, JTC, and others. Of the 32,000 hawkers, about 14,800 are in markets, hawker centres and other premises. The rest are in pitches at roadsides, backlanes and vacant lots. Since the construction of new hawker centres by the Ministry of the Environment, 470 street hawkers have been resited by the Ministry and more will be resited in due course as new hawker centres are ready.

In the recent licensing exercise of bona fide hawkers, 8,264 applications were considered, of which 7,457 were issued with new licences and 807 were rejected, i.e. less than 10 per cent were rejected as they were not bona fide hawkers. There are still 17 appeal cases under consideration.

On the question of hawkers affected by development, our policy and that of 1-1DB is to give priority to those bona fide hawkers who are affected by development. They are either resited temporarily on an alternative site or moved into another hawker centre if there is vacancy.

Mr P. Govindaswamy: Mr Speaker, Sir, my question is this: will the hawkers affected by development be granted alternative site or not? That is what I want to know.

Mr Wee Toon Boon: Mr Speaker, Sir, in the last part of my answer, I have clearly stated that they are either resited temporarily on an alternative site or moved into another hawker centre if there is vacancy.

Mr Ivan Baptist (Potong Pasir): Mr Speaker, Sir, the Government is doing a wonderful job in resiting the hawkers into various hawker centres. I wonder if the Minister realises that the hawkers at Alkaff Avenue in Potong Pasir should be resited, because they are selling their goods at reasonable prices and they are well supported by members of the community.

Mr Speaker: What is the Member's question?

Mr Baptist: The question is, will these hawkers be put into hawker centres, or whether a hawker centre will be built at Alkaff Avenue in Potong Pasir?

Mr Wee Toon Boon: Mr Speaker, Sir, I do not know what is the intention of the hon. Member. But as far as the Hawker's Department is concerned, the position has been regularised by now, i.e, most of the hawkers have been issued with licences to hawk at allocated places. In the case of the place which the Member has mentioned unless the hawkers are affected by redevelopment projects, I do not think the Hawkers' Department will disturb them, unless there is a good reason for the Member to suggest resiting them to any other place.

Mr Baptist: Mr Speaker, Sir, most certainly, because hawking does affect the environment in the present place in which the hawkers are situated.