COMPULSORY LAND ACQUISITION

Dr Teo Ho Pin asked the Acting Minister for Information, Communications and the Arts whether he will consider preserving the old Parliament building and its chamber as a museum for national heritage and education instead of allowing it to be converted into a food and beverage-cum-retail development.

Mr David T. E. Lim: The Old Parliament House and its Annexe building were gazetted as national monuments in 1992. It is our intent to preserve as much as possible their physical architecture and historical character. One key objective is to preserve our constitutional history in these symbolic buildings.

The National Arts Council (NAC) is spearheading this project, jointly with the National Heritage Board (NHB). The plan is to convert the Old Parliament House into an arts and heritage centre. There will be heritage tours and arts education programmes for students and the general public.

Let me highlight the main elements of the plan. First, we will use the walls within the Old Parliament House to display both the history of the building, as well as the constitutional history of Singapore.

Second, we will mark several important rooms within the Old Parliament House with informational plaques, to tell visitors of significant events which took place in these rooms. For example, Members may remember the Committee Room of the Legislative Assembly on Level 2, next to the Members' Room. This was where SM met the "Plen" in 1958. We will find a way to tell this important story.

Third, we will preserve the Parliament Chamber even as we convert it into a 160-seat performance venue for chamber music, choral singing and small drama productions. There will be minimum changes. For example, we will keep the seats in their original position. They will serve as audience seats.

Fourth, we will convert some of the functional rooms into public spaces for the arts and heritage. The Library will be turned into a 120-seat blackbox. Part of the ground floor office space will be converted into a 72-seat film theatrette. We will turn the Committee Room into an art exhibition space.

Finally, we will set aside some spaces for food and beverage and shops. The public entrance lobby and porch can house a restaurant with al fresco dining. The previous computer and store spaces will make way for a book-cum-souvenir shop. The ground floor of the Annexe Building will house another restaurant with a good view of the Singapore River. In total, not more than 20% of the total gross floor area is set aside for these ancillary services. These are necessary for visitors' comfort and convenience.

Mdm Cynthia Phua asked the Minister for Law (a) what is the average timeframe for the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) to settle a compulsory land acquisition case; (b) in cases where an appeal is made against the compensation awarded, whether SLA makes an interim payment to the affected party; and (c) whether any party had been made bankrupt by a mortgagee bank due to the low compensation amount awarded.

Prof. S. Jayakumar: The average time-frame to settle a land acquisition case depends on whether the property owner agrees with the compensation offer by the Singapore Land Authority or SLA. If he does, the case is settled quickly and he receives the compensation monies early.

In recent years, about 94% of them were settled within two and a half years from the date of gazetting the acquisition. These owners' cases were settled by SLA and were not heard by the Land Acquisition Appeals Board. The remaining 6% which were heard by the Board were mainly settled within 2-3 years from the date of gazetting the acquisition.

Within 4 to 6 months of the gazetting of the acquisition, the property owner receives 20% of the compensation offer from the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) when he surrenders his title deeds. This is to help him relocate. He receives this amount whether or not he appeals to the Land Acquisition Appeals Board. Once he vacates the premises, he receives the remaining 80%.

We have no knowledge of any land owner who has been made a bankrupt by the mortgagee bank because of the compensation amount awarded. Indeed, in cases where owners face hardship arising from the acquisition, Government extends ex-gratia payments to ameliorate their hardship. Over the years, Government has expanded the ex-gratia scheme to allow more affected owners to qualify for ex-gratia payments.