FIVE activities are now allowed at river reserves in Selangor, subject to certain conditions being met.
Plant nurseries, cash crops, car parks, landscaping such as parks and public infrastructure such as roads are now allowed at river reserves.
Selangor infrastructure and agriculture committee chairman Izham Hashim said approval was given to prevent illegal activities.
"The state government allows selected activities to take place to address illegal rubbish dumping while allowing rivers to still serve their function.
"However, approval for such activities is subject to certain conditions.
"The conditions include the need to include access for machinery and equipment for maintenance work and not building permanent structures.
"However, approval is on a lease basis (temporary).
"If the government wants the river reserve back for future projects such as flood mitigation purposes, the operator has to surrender the site."
The state planning committee (JPN) last year approved a guideline on the use of river reserves said Izham, adding that all applications must go through the District and Land Office, which will then refer the matter to technical agencies such as the Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID) and Selangor Water Management Authority (LUAS) for their input before approval can be considered.
"The state government is mulling additional activities to be included in the same guideline, including construction of jetties, riverside restaurants as well as homestays and chalets," said the Pandan Indah assemblyman.
"However, no development is allowed on flood plains as these are low-lying areas where the water level rises quickly when it rains."
Izham was speaking on the sidelines of the Selangor state assembly sitting at Wisma Dewan Negeri Selangor in Shah Alam.
Earlier during the sitting, Jefri Mejan (PN-Ijok) had asked about the change in land status for land earmarked as river reserve or river basin in Sungai Buloh.
Jefri expressed concerns that embankments along these stretches were filled with rubbish that reduced the rivers' capacity and resulted in flooding.
