Secretary for Development Bernadette Linn on Saturday stressed the government would not be lenient towards violators in the construction and renovations sector and called on the industry to be proactive in stepping up its monitoring efforts. She told Commercial Radio that some members of the industry had been left disheartened and wrongly done by the tainting of the sector in the wake of the devastating fire at Tai Po's Wang Fuk Court that saw some workers involved in major renovations at the estate coming under suspicion of breaching laws and regulations. Non-fire retardant netting has been seen as contributing to the rapid spread of last month's blaze. Linn said the sector should seize the initiative to act on any matter when it comes to safety instead of waiting for the government to make the first move. "Even though the government has not yet legislated against smoking at construction sites, it has the intention to do so and the industry can still act first," she said. "And if some people are cutting corners on safety and carrying out some kind of deals, the industry can make use of technology – such as surveillance cameras – to do real-time monitoring. This is something they can carry out and is part of the area up for review. "I have asked them to come up with a timetable as soon as they can to show the public that they will really address the issues in the sector." The government, which proposed amendments to the Buildings Ordinance last year, aims to introduce the bill in the first half of next year. These earlier proposals levy stiffer punishment on offenders, tackle unauthorised building works and encourage homeowners to enhance building safety, Linn said, and the Development Bureau will see if more amendments are needed in the aftermath of the Tai Po blaze. She also does not rule out the possibility of rolling out laws to cap the number of subcontracting tiers to only three – the same as public works projects – so as to avoid unclear roles and responsibilities if the sector fails to make improvements to its best practices.