Many private columbaria that have emerged in recent years to fill the shortage of internment niches could be outlawed under proposed legislation, leaving thousands of urns without resting places, Secretary for Food and Health Ko Wing-man said.

Ko made the promise on Tuesday before a panel of the Legislative Council as the administration presented a brief outline of its proposed licensing and regulation of private columbaria. The bill will be submitted to the council before fall of 2013.

Unauthorized columbaria have mushroomed across the city, in particular in rural areas of the New Territories, since the city ran out of afterlife places in recent years.

Ash urns have been placed at temples, village houses and even farmland without proper approval, stirring fury among neighbors. They are caught up by planning and hygiene laws, but Ko admitted that "my personal feeling (of the situation) is very bad".

As the government began drafting the long-anticipated regulation, Ko cautioned that the city will inevitably face difficult choices.

Under the new regulatory framework, the government will form a new statutory authority - Private Columbaria Licensing Board - to grant licenses. The Food and Environmental Hygiene Department will carry out inspections and execute decisions made by the board.

In addition to compliance with existing statutory requirements on building safety, fire safety, hygiene, environment and endorsements of the Town Planning Board, the columbaria license applicant must also prove ownership of the premises and submit a management scheme.

Ko said the early plan was to exempt only "long-existing" columbaria from regulation because "they did not emerge in the past decade or two with the sole purpose to run a business and make profits."

The exact definition of "long-existing" remains an open question. But as profiteering columbaria will certainly come under strict scrutiny, Ko suggested that line would be drawn somewhere close to "half a century ago".

Those existing columbaria in question, if found to possess "a reasonable prospect of fully meeting the licensing requirements within a reasonable period of time", could be given a grace period by the authority.

But Ko expected many columbaria to fail the test and a lot of urns will be left in the cold following the massive shutdown. Ko assured the operators will not succeed in hijacking the urns of the deceased, "we won't be afraid of a large number (of urns)."

Temporary public niches will be offered while families "look for solutions", but Ko said the government will not promise permanent substitutes in order to avoid creating a "fait accompli" backup for law breakers.

Ko noted that government has already compiled lists of columbaria that failed to meet the statutory requirements. "You are bearing some risks if you insist to place urns in the listed columbaria," he said. "I think the unlawful businessmen will be wasting their effort to market the niches in the meantime."

Not that urns settled in licensed columbaria will be guaranteed to rest in peace forever - the licenses will need renewal once in every five years. Ko said it was necessary to ensure the columbaria will always comply with requirements.

Eddie Tse Sai-kit, convenor of Columbarium Concern Group, welcomed Ko's clarification. Satisfied with the proposed legislation, the group will turn its focus on addition of public niches and advocacy of alternate forms of burial in the forthcoming meeting with the secretary.

In fact, the government will also reveal measures in January, hoping to transform the city's deep-rooted customs and bring down demand for niches in the long run.

"As I have said before, I will not use a niche or a cemetery. I am only undecided on where to scatter my ash," said Ko.

kahon@chinadailyhk.com

(HK Edition 12/12/2012 page1)