Follow-Up

What a start to my morning!
A follow-up to my previous post. Btw, he did not highlight the access road issue.
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Residents Want Hill Preserved (By: Jaspal Singh)

KAMPAR: A group of people are determined to see that the lush greenery of Bukit Kampar will not fall victim to arbitrary hillside development.

Hence, an approval given by the Kinta Selatan District Council to a developer early this year to clear the land on a steep slope of the hill for housing is being challenged by residents living close to the area.

Although the proposed project was taking place on private land, the residents of Taman Juloong want the district council to be transparent about the approval it had given.

Not only were they upset that the district council had allowed the clearing of 7ha on the slope, they were also angry with its apparent lack of seriousness in ensuring that the work was done according to established rules and regulations.

Speaking to reporters invited to see the massive land-clearing work being carried out at Bukit Kampar, the residents' spokesman, Ridzuan Lee Abdullah, said the district council's technical committee did not seek the views of Taman Juloong residents who had been staying on the fringes of Bukit Kampar for the past 30 years.

"The approval was given blatantly without care or regard for the environment and the residents living in the vicinity of the project.

"Having given this approval, the district council does not even bother to check on the land-clearing activities being carried out on the slope."

According to Ridzuan, no silt traps were installed by the developer to stop the flow of mud from the cleared area from going into the monsoon drains.

He said the one-metre deep drains near the area were filled with 70 per cent of silt and this had resulted in minor flash floods in nearby areas because the drains were now unable to channel water to the Kranji river when it rained heavily.

Ridzuan said the district council failed to adhere to the regulations which prohibited development on hill slopes with a gradient of more than 25 degrees.

"In this case, the slopes involved have gradients between 35 and 70 degrees. How could the district council allow the clearing of land on such steep gradients?"

He said the land clearing was carried out 12 hours every day, including weekends and public holidays, adding that no proper signboard had been erected to show who the developer was and other details.

According to Ridzuan, the residents had brought the matter up to the attention of the Kranji state assemblyman Chen Fook Chye but were told that the project had satisfied the guidelines.

"We have also written to Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as well as state Local Government, Housing and Public Transport Committee chairman Nga Kor Ming about the project and our plight but there has been no response from them."

Chen, who is state National Unity and Integration and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman, said he had referred the matter to the Department of Environment in April for action and was informed that the project did not need an environmental impact assessment because the size of the project was less than 20ha.

NST Online, 14 July 2008; http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/Monday/National/2293203/Article
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Hmmm... are we fighting a losing battle?

-LV-