Sizes of State Land around Black and White Bungalows Cleared for Safety or Health Reasons since 2013
Ministry of LawSpeakers
Summary
This question concerns the sizes of state land cleared around black-and-white bungalows for health or safety reasons since 2013, as raised by Ms Hazel Poa. Second Minister for Law Edwin Tong Chun Fai explained that the Singapore Land Authority assesses such requests on their individual merits to safeguard its interests as a landlord. Considerations include the nature of health and safety concerns, tenancy details, and whether issues like mosquito breeding can be resolved through site-specific measures like fogging. Site clearance is only performed if disamenities persist and it is deemed necessary to address specific public health or safety risks within the context of the property. The Minister added that the size of the land to be cleared was not a consideration in the specific cases involving 26 Ridout Road and Dalvey Estate.
Transcript
5 Ms Hazel Poa asked the Minister for Law since 2013, what are the sizes of the state land cleared in other instances of land clearance around state-owned black and white bungalows for safety or health reasons.
Mr Edwin Tong Chun Fai (The Second Minister for Law): From time to time, the Singapore Land Authority (SLA) receives feedback, from the tenants of residential state properties it manages and/or other residents in the vicinity, on issues related to vegetated land located within and adjacent to the properties.
SLA’s approach to such cases, including whether site clearance is necessary, is to assess each case on its merits, depending on the specific circumstances and always with a view to safeguarding SLA’s interests as the landlord.
SLA will take into consideration, amongst other factors, the nature of the tenants’ public health and safety concerns, the specific tenancy details and how SLA’s interests would be best achieved in the context of the tenancy and its surrounding circumstances. The solution to the issues may also be site-specific. For example, some cases involving mosquito breeding can be resolved through more frequent fogging. However, site clearance may be carried out if the disamenity persists and it is necessary to address public health and safety concerns.
The considerations behind the site clearance for the cases at 26 Ridout Road and the state property at Dalvey Estate were explained in Parliament on 3 July 2023; these considerations did not include the size of the land to be cleared. [Please refer to "Rental of 26 Ridout Road", Official Report, 3 July 2023, Vol 95, Issue 105, Ministerial Statements section.]