The Lands Department and the Food and Environmental Hygiene Department (FEHD) yesterday came in for criticism for not efficiently removing objects that obstruct the flow of vehicular or pedestrian traffic in the streets.

In its report released yesterday, the Ombudsman said that the Lands Department had delayed in removing obstruction to streets by roadside skips, like large open containers used for temporary storage of construction materials.

The Ombudsman found that about 40 percent of the department inspections since 2006/07 fiscal year took place over three working days after receiving complaints. Some 20 percent of the cases over the same period took over five working days.

In an extreme case, the skips had been allowed to stay on site for over 50 days despite the notices posted.

The Ombudsman suggested that the department should streamline procedures to tighten its timeframe for inspection and removal of such roadside obstacles.

The increasing popularity of on-street promotional activities, especially the use of easy-mount stands, also alerted the Ombudsman.

The FEHD is empowered to tackle illegal hawking of goods, but it has exercised certain degree of tolerance allowing persons with low skills to provide scope for employment.

Yet the Ombudsman found that the use of easy-mount stands on streets is mainly related to the hawking of service by big companies who are benefitted instead.

"Those employing mobile or easy-mount stands tend to be major business corporations that are able to afford other means of advertising and offer alternative modes of employment," said the Ombudsman senior investigation officer Richard Lee Wai-tong.

The Ombudsman urged the department to devise a policy to control such activities.

A government spokesman said the Ombudsman's recommendations will be looked into carefully.

(HK Edition 12/19/2008 page1)