CLEARANCE AND DEMOLITION OF RENT-CONTROLLED PREMISES

Mr Chiam See Tong asked the Minister for National Development, in view of the great number of vacant plots of land and unoccupied office space available in the urban areas, whether he will consider stopping or slowing down the programme of clearance and demolition of rent-controlled premises.

Dr Lee Boon Yang (for the Minister for National Development): Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, once again, on behalf of my Minister.

Sir, the clearance programme is necessary for two main reasons. First, sites have to be cleared for public purposes like road widening, tourism projects, or for environmental reasons in the case of unsewered properties. Clearance of such sites has to go on as planned.

Second, sites have to be cleared for comprehensive redevelopmemnt. A long lead time of up to several years is required to clear and demolish a site for comprehensive redevelopment. This is because the land is usually fragmented into many lots, each of which has multiple tenants. A comprehensive redevelopment plan is a long term plan. It is based on the long term needs of our city. It should not be turned on or off in simple reaction to the market conditions of today. A glut of office and shopping space is, in fact, an opportunity to accelerate the resettlement programme.

Mr Chiam See Tong: Sir, I wonder whether the Minister, from the experience of his Ministry, could tell us what is the waiting period between demolition and the final sale of a piece of land.

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, that waiting period will depend on each particular site. It will be very difficult for me to give him now a figure which can be universally applied. It depends exactly on how many tenants are using the particular piece of land and what is the ownership, how is that land being distributed, and what other constraints apply to that piece of land.

Mr Chiam See Tong: In view of the depressed property market, is it not wise for the Ministry to slow down the process of demolition at the moment?

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, I have already given him the answer as to why we feel that the clearance programme should not be slowed down now. The Member for Potong Pasir is advocating a policy which, if we were to implement, would mean that we would only speed up or we would only carry out clearance programme when there is a shortage of vacant shops or vacant alternative premises for those who are going to be affected by clearance. Sir, I think such a policy would lead to greater problems and stresses on those who are affected by clearance because you are then asking them to move out. In a situation where there is physically a shortage of alternative places for them to go to, you are forcing them to move and they have to pay a higher price. We would not be able to carry out our clearance programme fairly and expeditiously if we were to try to do so in a situation where there is a shortage of alternative premises and I would not support such myopic policies.

Mr Chiam See Tong: Does the Minister realize that the clearance policy involves hundreds of households and, in fact, many businesses are affected? I am not asking this question in a vacuum. I have got complaints. Many people who are now enjoying rent-controlled premises have to go into HDB premises which they cannot carry on business because of the high rentals. Even if you give them a breathing space, now that there is a glut or I should say there is a shortage of demand for premises, should not this policy then be slowed down in the light of new situation?

Dr Lee Boon Yang: Mr Deputy Speaker, Sir, among the people who are affected, as the Member for Potong Pasir has mentioned, if their particular premises are affected for any of the reasons which I have just listed in my answer to him, then this is in fact the best time for them to move out when there is already a glut of alternative premises. I have just pointed out to him his myopic ideas, and if we were to follow them, it would only result in creating more problems for those very people whom he wishes to help.