Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn today said the Government's proposal to streamline land development-related statutory procedures will not pre-empt the Legislative Council's power and its monitoring functions.

The Development Bureau proposed to amend the existing procedures to compress development timetables and speed up land production.

The amendments include allowing the Government to begin the resumption of land and provision of rehousing and compensation upon obtaining the Executive Council's approval, without waiting for LegCo's approval of the relevant works funding.

Speaking to reporters after attending a radio programme this morning, Ms Linn explained that LegCo members can express their views or objections at the earlier stages of the development projects, such as the panel meetings where the Government introduces its initial idea of the projects or the Finance Committee's meeting which discusses the approval of the funding used for compensation.

She said: “Experience tells us that by the time we approach the LegCo Finance Committee for funding to proceed with the works, by that stage, which is rather a final stage, normally the concerns of the LegCo members will be on technical details, like whether we have sufficient facilities to support the new population, whether the timing of the whole construction schedule is reasonable, and whether we have done our best to respond to the concerns of the local residents affected.

“And normally, if LegCo members really do not want the Government to proceed with a certain development project requiring resumption, they will actually voice out their concerns years before we proceed to that stage of seeking funding approval.”