Developer gets stop-work order
BUKIT MERTAJAM: A developer in Kampung Besar Berapit near here has been slapped with a stop-work order by the authorities after failing to mitigate soil erosion on the cliffs at its project site, about 600m from the Mengkuang Dam.
At the entrance beside Jalan Berapit, the construction notice board says that the developer is building a three-storey birdhouse for swallows on the lot, with the plan approved in December 2016.
However, it is over two years since the approval with no sign of the birdhouse coming up.
With the present rainy season, villagers living nearby are worried as the hill that was once covered in green is now a bald patch, exposing orange-coloured soil.
“Today, it is all bare and orange. There seems to be no protection of the hill that is extremely close to the Mengkuang Dam.
“The plan was approved three years ago, but now the hill is almost gone and where is the birdhouse?” asked a villager, who wished to be known only as Sani, on Thursday.
Villagers in Kampung Sungai Tok Elong, Kampung Sungai Semambu and Kampung Tanah Liat downstream fear that mud from the site would wash down to their homes if no mitigation is in place.
“The villagers have little room to escape if something bad happens. And we can see that rocks have clogged up many parts of the drains.
“We are afraid that if a landslide occurs on the hill, the mud will most likely end up in our villages,” said Sani, who is in his 30s.
Seberang Prai Municipal Council (MPSP) president Datuk Rozali Mohamud said the stop-work order on the 0.57ha site was issued on Wednesday.
“The plan for the earthwork at this site was approved on Dec 6, 2016, and does not have an expiry date. The developer was allowed to initiate work once it submitted Form B, which MPSP received from this developer on Dec 13, 2016.
“However, the stop-work order was issued on Wednesday after the developer failed to comply with the requirements of the approved earthwork, such as having proper mud erosion mitigation and protection of the exposed hill.
“The developer is required to take the mitigation steps to ensure soil erosion does not end up in the drain and road nearby,” he said.
Apart from ordering for all work on the site to cease, the stop-work notice also requires the developer to consult an engineering consultant to submit a proposal for soil erosion mitigation and protection as well as maintenance to be done on the land within seven days.
If he fails to comply, Rozali said, the developer could be hauled up to court and if convicted, could be fined under the MPSP Earthworks By-Law 1992.
It is learnt that work on the site may not resume until approved by the council.
Berapit assemblyman Heng Lee Lee, who visited the site on Thursday, expressed concern that the hill was bare and without protection.
“I hope the developer will put necessary mitigation requirements in place for the safety of everyone,” she said.
Heng said checks with the council on a quarry operating beside the site showed that the operator had obtained necessary work documentation in 2002.
But, she noted that the use of explosives had not been allowed there since 2013 because the height of excavation had exceeded the height allowed in the earthwork plan.
Separately, on April 17, the landowner of a 5.6ha plot located about 2.5km away from the Mengkuang Dam was issued with a notice by MPSP for allowing earthworks on the hill land without permission.
Trees on the slope were chopped down and authorities believe the landowner intended to start a durian orchard there.
State Welfare, Caring Society and Environment Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh had said that state Forestry Department officers were conducting a spot check on the site on April 12 when they found logs being illegally removed from the hill.
Source: TheStar
