Stop the planned expressway to cut through Selangor state park

http://www.thestar.com.my/News/Community/2014/02/24/Forest-at-risk-New-planned-expressway-to-cut-through-state-park/

A 30-day public hearing is ongoing to seek feedback on a proposal to de-gazette parts of the Ulu Langat, Gombak, Ampang and Bukit Sungai Puteh forest reserves for the construction of the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE). The expressway is the eastern route and final stretch of the Kuala Lumpur Outer Ring Road. The de-gazettement exercise involves an area totalling 106.65ha. The Selangor Forestry Department placed a notice in major dailies on Feb 14 inviting stakeholders in the Ulu Langat and Gombak districts to voice their objections to the proposal within 30 days. The public hearing is in accordance with the Public Inquiry (Selangor) Rules 2014, as well as National Forestry Act (Adoption) Enactment 1985 which makes the exercise (placement of notice) compulsory before a forest reserve can be de-gazetted. These new rules make this the first time the state government holds a public hearing prior to the de-gazettement of forest reserve.

Selangor Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment committee chairman Elizabeth Wong said the state government called for a public hearing following the concessionaire’s request for the land to be alienated to them. The Environment Department (DOE) in Putrajaya had approved the Detailed Environmental Impact Assessment in April last year with 62 conditions attached. The approval is for the first phase of the expressway project, which is a 24.16km stretch from the Sungai Long Interchange to the Ukay Perdana Interchange. “In Selangor, we have a legal provision whereby any de-gazetting of a forest reserve must go through a public hearing. “The exco was also of the opinion that the matter of alienation of land must have the public’s input,” said Wong. She added that the state had suggested several alternative routes to the DOE to prevent the highway from cutting through the forests, among them an underground tunnel and an elevated highway along the Middle Ring Road 2 (MRR2). In a state assembly sitting last year, it was decided that Wong, Selangor Youth and Sports, Infrastructure and Public Amenities Committee chairman Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi and other experts will head the hearing committee. A new committee chaired by Wong had also been set up to monitor the development of the EKVE. Wong was reported as saying that the state had two options, either to de-gazette the forest reserve depending on the outcome of the public hearing, or to allow the highway to run through, via the Right of Way (ROW). Environmental organisations are objecting the move as they feel that the de-gazettement exercise will set a dangerous precedent.

Selangor MNS vice-chairman Lim Teck Wyn said the Coalition for Taman Warisan Negeri Selangor would issue a joint statement to state their objection. The coalition consists of MNS, WWF-Malaysia, Treat Every Environment Special (TrEES) and Save Our Sungai Selangor (SOS Selangor). “The affected area cuts right through the middle of the forest reserve and it is not hard to see that in the future, more stretches will be taken up for development,” he told StarMetro after a visit to the Selangor Forestry branch office in Cheras, to check on the map of the proposed areas to be de-gazetted. “The notice does not indicate that the areas to be de-gazetted will pass through the Selangor State Park but the map clearly shows it will. “The integrity of the state park will be compromised,” he said. The state park was gazetted in 2005 in conjunction with its Developed State status. It was classified as Rank 1 Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) under the National Physical Plan and hence, accorded the highest status of protection. The 108,300ha park is the source of most of Selangor’s water and forests in the state park play an important role in regulating water supply to the dams. The Hulu Gombak and Ampang Forest Reserves are also classified as water catchment forests under the National Forestry Act Selangor Enactment 2005 as well as the LUAS Enactment 1999 (Selangor Waters Management Authority). Lim said that some of the affected forest reserves were gazetted in 1913, while the affected stretch runs along Sungai Ampang and had been kept pristine due to its importance. “One of the possible reasons to de-gazette the forest reserves is that the highway company wants it alienated to them, because otherwise, the state is entitled to charge them rent every year,” he said. While he appreciated that the public were given an opportunity to voice their views, he said many might have missed the notice that was advertised in the classified pages. He was also concerned if there was enough time as the public had to visit one of the two offices to view the map that was not published in the newspapers or posted on the Internet. They are also required to write in by post as no email address was given.

He added that the Gombak district included residents in Ampang, Ulu Klang, Melawati, Bukit Antarabangsa and Rawang while the Hulu Langat district covered Kajang, Cheras and Sungai Long. Concerned parties can write to the Director, Selangor Forestry Department, Tingkat 3, Bangunan Sultan Salahuddin Abdul Aziz Shah, 40660 Shah Alam, Selangor to have their say on the issue. The project proponent, EKVE Sdn Bhd, is a subsidiary of Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd which signed a RM1.55bil concession agreement in February last year with the Works Ministry for the design, construction, completion, operation, management and maintenance of the stretch. The expressway stretching more than 30km is intended to connect Sungai Pusu in Gombak (Karak Expressway) and Bandar Sungai Long in Kajang (Kajang Silk Highway). It was reported that the concession period is 50 years. When contacted, Ahmad Zaki has declined to comment at press time.