Singapore legislation
Section 40
Section 40
Minister may order back-lanes to be laid out
(1)
The Minister may at any time on the recommendation of the Director-General and after receiving such report as he may think fit to call for from an officer appointed to inquire and report in each case, order that a back-lane, with approaches thereto if necessary, of a width not exceeding 7.6 metres shall be laid out through any lands, and that the lands specified in the order may be acquired for the purpose of providing such back-lane and approaches, if any.Any land which in the opinion of the Minister the Government may be required to purchase under subsection (7) or (8) or which abuts on or is near to the site of the back-lane may be specified in the order in addition to the land required for the site of the back-lane and approaches thereto.
(2)
An approach to a back-lane shall be deemed to be part of the back-lane for the purposes of this Act.
(3)
The Director-General may register such an order under the Registration of Deeds Act [Cap. 269] or in the case of registered land under the Land Titles Act [Cap. 157].
(4)
Upon such registration under subsection (3), the lands specified in the order shall be deemed to be vested in the Government for the purposes of this Act freed from all encumbrances, and, where the land is held under a statutory land grant, the order shall not be deemed to be a subdivision within the meaning of the State Lands Act [Cap. 314].
(5)
Whenever any lands other than those included in any order registered under subsection (3) have been acquired by the Government in connection with that order under subsection (7) or (8), the Director-General shall prepare a plan of the lands so acquired and the Minister shall, by writing under his hand, declare that those lands have been acquired by the Government in connection with the order, and the registration of that declaration together with the plan shall vest those lands in the Government free from all encumbrances in like manner as if the lands had been originally included in the order.
(6)
When the Director-General has registered the order or declaration in this section referred to, he may proceed to demolish and remove any building or portion of a building which is on the land specified in the order or writing.
(7)
When the acquisition under this section of any portion of a building for a back-lane or for any approach thereto renders useless the remainder of any such building, the Government shall, if the owner so requires, acquire the remainder of the holding covered by the building and its appurtenances and shall pay therefor in accordance with this section.
(8)
Where the acquisition under this section of any vacant land for a back-lane or any approach thereto would cause a severance of land belonging to the owner from other land forming part of the same holding, no compensation shall be paid for such severance, but, if any portion or the whole of the land so severed has been rendered useless as a building site on account of the severance, and if the owner so requires, the Government shall acquire that portion or the whole, as the case may be, and shall pay therefor in accordance with this section.
(9)
Compensation shall be paid to the owners of lands acquired under this section in accordance with the following provisions:
where the whole of a holding is acquired, compensation shall be paid for the whole of the holding;
where the whole or more than one-half in width of the land so acquired for the purpose of forming a back-lane or an approach to a back-lane passes through one holding, compensation shall be paid for such portion of the holding taken as exceeds such one-half in width, and the Government shall at its own expense and notwithstanding anything to the contrary in this Act rebuild or reconstruct so much of any portion of any building on the holding abutting on the land so acquired and in such a manner as will bring the building into conformity with the Building Control Act [Cap. 29] and the building regulations so far as in the sole discretion of the Director-General, it is reasonable to do so;
where one-half or less in width of the land so acquired for the purpose of forming a back-lane or an approach to a back-lane passes through one holding, no compensation shall be payable to the owner of the holding, but if less than one-half in width so passes, the owner of the holding shall if so required by the Government reimburse the Government any moneys at any time paid or payable by it for the acquisition by any means of so much of that width as with the land taken from that holding makes up that one-half in width, and in either case the Government shall rebuild or reconstruct so much of any portion of any building on the holding abutting on the land so acquired and in such a manner as will bring the building into conformity with the Building Control Act and any regulations made thereunder so far as in the sole discretion of the Director-General it is reasonable to do so.For the purpose of carrying out his duties under this subsection relating to the reconstruction of the back portion of any premises abutting on land acquired for a back-lane, the Director-General and any of his officers or agents in that behalf shall have all necessary powers of entry upon any holding affected by the reconstruction for the purpose of or in connection with the reconstruction.
(10)
Without prejudice to the provisions of any other written law for the time being in force governing the acquisition of land for public purposes, the price to be paid by the Government for the portion of any land or buildings acquired under this section for which compensation is payable shall be ascertained in accordance with the following provisions:
where there are no buildings on the land or where the whole of the land and buildings are acquired, in the manner provided in the Land Acquisition Act [Cap. 152];
where there are buildings on the land and only part of the land is acquired —
where the part of the buildings acquired is used as a dwelling-house and is, owing to the absence of air and light or other causes, unfit for human habitation, in accordance with the market value of the land and building materials thereon at the date of the making of the order referred to in subsection (1);
where the part of the buildings acquired is not used as a dwelling-house or for human habitation and is not in good sanitary condition, in accordance with the market value of the land and building materials thereon at the date of the making of the order referred to in subsection (1);
where the part of the buildings acquired is in good sanitary condition, in accordance with the market value of the land and the buildings at the date of the making of the order referred to in subsection (1).
(11)
The method of ascertaining the price as defined by subsection (10) shall be that provided in section 38(9).
(12)
Where any land so acquired for a back-lane or an approach thereto abuts upon a holding but does not pass through it, the owner of the holding shall if so required by the Government reimburse the Government any moneys at any time paid or payable for the acquisition by any means of the portion of the land to the centre thereof which abuts on the holding to the extent to which it so abuts.
(13)
The owner or owners at the time when such order is registered of any holding or holdings which is or are separated from the back-lane by any land acquired under this section, shall reimburse the Government any moneys paid or payable for that land or such part thereof as abuts upon his or their holding or holdings, and upon such payment being made the Government shall assure to such owner or owners that land and shall at its own expense construct party or other walls enclosing that land to such extent and in such manner as it may consider proper.[55