The Star Metro, Saturday 18 December 2004

From the MPSJ council meeting

By Dharmender Singh

The council will not approve applications for development projects on top of slopes with a gradient of more than 35 degrees.  Its president, Datuk Abdul Hakim Borhan, said the decision was in line with the Protection of Natural Topography and Physical Development Guidelines that the council was adopting.

He said slopes that exceeded 35 degrees were deemed extremely sensitive areas and could create problems for the surrounding low-lying land.  “We have experienced flash floods and mud slides as a result of development on such sensitive areas in the past as some of these areas serve as water-catchment areas,” he said.

Abdul Hakim said under the guidelines, land with a gradient of below 12 degrees could be used for industrial, commercial and housing development or tourism and recreation-related projects.

He said a plot with a gradient of between 13 and 25 degrees and located on elevated ground (higher than 4m) could only be used for low density projects. He added that the landowner had to ensure that the landscape design followed the natural contour of the hill slope so as not to weaken the slopes.

As for land on slopes of between 26 and 35 degrees, he said the guidelines stipulated that it could only be development for recreational and tourism projects. Abdul Hakim said the council was keeping tabs on all projects on slopes.

He added that the council’s Engineering Department staff were visiting sites to ensure that developers carrying out land-clearing work had provided silt traps and retention ponds.

“We have been having problems with some of the developers who send it their development applications and than carry out their projects in phases,” he said.

He noted that the companies would start work at location away from the area where the council had required the retention pond and silt trap to be built, and then claimed that the worksite was too far for the water to be channelled to the pond.

He said the council now asked the developers to build a temporary pond and silt trap near the worksite.

Abdul Hakim said MPSJ had also requested help from the Drainage and Irrigation Department and the state committee on hill development to monitor sensitive sites.