The government is drawing up guidelines to handle claims for fung shui payouts related to work on the express railway to Guangzhou as pressure mounts for greater transparency on such compensation.
Questioned in the Legislative Council yesterday about geomancy payouts covering projects dating back a century, Secretary for Development Carrie Lam Cheng Yuet-ngor said the move to produce new guidelines was prompted by a rise in fung shui-related compensation claims linked to the railway and public concerns about the payments.
She said the move was designed to 'enhance operational transparency'. But there was confusion over how the payouts are calculated after Lam said fung shui was 'not a consideration'. Rather, she said, 'our objectives are to alleviate residents' concerns and to mitigate the negative impact of works on the surrounding environment'.
Lam told lawmakers that non-binding principles and procedures were being formulated 'for reference of departments'. They would cover the scope of applications, factors for consideration, assessment criteria, project management and tendering.
Investigations by the South China Morning Post in recent weeks established that at least HK$72 million had been paid to geomancers, religious practitioners, contractors and village chiefs over the past decade.
Legislator Margaret Ng Ngoi-yee asked Lam to confirm that the government had spent HK$72 million on such payments, but Lam declined to verify the figure. 'If you need us to be that detailed and retrieve details from so many previous construction works, we should consider if such a move is valuable and meaningful,' she said.
