Pahang govt urged to explain land clearing
KUANTAN: The Pahang government has been urged to explain the land clearing on Bukit Sekilau.
Semambu assemblyman Lee Chean Chung said the land clearing for housing projects had resulted in pollution and inconvenienced residents.
“According to the original plan, the land was proposed for a housing development, but we have yet to see any project signage at the site.
“We have, however, seen rocks and timber logs being transported out of the area. This has raised concerns among residents in the area
“We want to know if the developer had carried out an Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA), which is under the purview of the state Department of Environment (DoE), if approval for the clearing had been issued.
“If there is no EIA report and approval (issued), the developer could be violating Section 34 of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 as the project is illegal.
“Then action must be taken against the company,” he said after a visit to Bukit Sekilau here yesterday.
Lee said the land clearing was temporarily halted before the 14th General Election.
He said he would ask for an explanation from the Kuantan Municipal Council, state Mineral and Geoscience Department and DoE on the issue.
“We want to know why the developer was given permission to carry out work on the hill if it did not fulfil the requirements stipulated by relevant agencies (on hill development).
“The developer may have stopped operations, but we want the council to issue a specific order to prevent any land clearing without prior approval from the authorities.
“We learnt that the state government had sold the land below market value.
“If we refer to the Valuation and Property Services Department, the land is valued at RM2.6 million. The developer, however, bought the land for RM1.9 million. The state government must offer an explanation on this too.”
He said the matter would be highlighted at the State Legislative Assembly meeting.