Govt effort in slope maintenance under review

Hong Kong’s government watchdog on Thursday announced the launch of a direct investigation operation to examine the SAR government’s monitoring and regulation of slope safety in detail.

The Ombudsman said over the past 30 years, there has been an annual average of about 300 landslides recorded in Hong Kong.

While there has been a downward trend in the number of landslides in recent years, severe landslides triggered by extreme weather might still occur, creating serious incidents, said the Ombudsman, adding that the number of landslides exceeded 600 in 2023 alone, raising alarms in the community.

The direct investigation operation launched by the watchdog will seriously examine whether there is room for further enhancement of the government's monitoring and regulation of slope safety, including the overall strategy on landslip prevention and mitigation, the routine repair and maintenance of government man-made slopes, the issuance and subsequent enforcement of Dangerous Hillside Orders, the determination of slope maintenance responsibility and dispute handling, post-landslide follow-up actions, as well as interdepartmental collaboration covering case referral, exchange of information and professional knowledge.

Such a review will help formulate recommendations to the government for improvement where necessary, said the Ombudsman.

Members of the public are invited to share their views on this topic. Written submissions should reach the Office of The Ombudsman by December 13.