Metro

Tuesday March 18, 2008

Residents want public hearing over Bukit Gasing development on April 23

By BAVANI M

THE High Court has set April 23 to hear an application for leave by the Joint Action Committee of Bukit Gasing (JACBG), and a group of owners and residents for a judicial review against the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to compel them to hold a public hearing on a proposed development located on the KL side of Bukit Gasing.

The residents also want to see the necessary papers, technical reports and studies on the development.

Bukit Gasing assemblyman Edward Lee described the court decision as a mini victory.

Beaming over positive outcome: Owners and residents of Bukit Gasing outside the court.

“It's like being given the key to the door - to enter and present our case in detail and to tell DBKL not to allow any form of development in Bukit Gasing,'' he said.

“We have received very little information from DBKL. In fact, till today we don't know the status of the land. We don't even know if a development order has been issued,'' said Lee.

JACBG committee member Gary Yeoh said DBKL's lack of communication had forced them to go to court.

“There has been no feedback from them and that is why we had to resort to this,'' said Yeoh.

“This is only the beginning. The court has granted us leave to proceed and we will be keeping a close eye on the area to be developed.

Green sight: A file picture of Gasing Hill and the Section 5 residential area.

“If there is any hanky panky, we will file an interim order to compel them to stop,'' added Lee.

Yeoh said that he hoped DBKL would act responsibly and hold a public hearing.

“As a taxpayer, I fail to understand why I am not told what is happening,'' said Yeoh.

The residents had submitted a petition to DBKL last year requesting for a public hearing but the DBKL sent a letter to the residents on Dec 31, 2007, refusing to grant them a public hearing.

At a meeting on Jan 26, the concerned residents unanimously supported the move to take legal action against the DBKL and filed for a judicial review by the High Court.

The proposed development by Gasing Meridian Sdn Bhd is to develop 71 bungalows on a 15.4ha site.

"It's like being given the key to the door - to enter and present our case in detail" - EDWARD LEE

It affects over 860 condo units, water reservoir and a 60m pipeline that supplies water to residents on the PJ side of Bukit Gasing.

Residents fear for their lives as the proposed development is being carried out on land where the soil structure consists of sandstone and shale and is unsuitable for any type of development.

The residents are worried that any form of development on the site could lead to a landslide.

The group's request for a judicial review also included the High Court to rule that the residents be informed and shown all reports, geological survey, soil structure, soil stability evaluations, proposed geo-hazard mitigation measures, environmental impact assessment, traffic impact analysis and social impact analysis carried out by the developer on the site.

The residents said that DBKL had acted contrary to what is stated in the Federal Territory (Planning) Act 1982, (Act 267) - requiring local plans for KL that would have given the affected owners the right to be heard in respect to the proposed development.

Despite gazetting the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 in 2004, it had failed to prepare draft local plans for the area as required by the Federal Territory Planning Act.

A resident of Bukit Gasing, C.Y Lee said that DBKL had not acted in accordance with the law, as well as the principle of Local Agenda 21, requiring partnership between DBKL and the public.

“Are they (DBKL) not answerable to us as taxpayers, don't we have any say at all,'' lamented Lee.

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