Wednesday, June 25, 2014

Questions Regarding the Proposed Degazettement of the Park and Forest Reserves and the Construction of the EKVE

Despite numerous and on-going objections, planning for the EKVE is moving steadily forward.  While the EKVE is a federal project, the Selangor State Government has given its approval in principle to the expressway cutting through the Park back in April 2010.  The DEIA was approved in April 2013.  In April 2014, the Department of Environment Selangor has stated that the Erosion Sedimentation Control Plan (ESCP) was approved by the DID Selangor and the Wildlife Plan was approved by PERHILITAN.  The DOE Selangor has said they are currently waiting for the project proponent to submit the final planning report – the Environment Management Plan.  Once the DOE Selangor receives the EMP, they expect to approve it within one month. 

Considering the construction of the East Klang Valley Expressway through the Selangor State Park will jeopardise the already fragile state of our existing water resources, we hope members of the State Government can clearly answer our questions:

1.    Can the State Government please inform the public hearing - exactly what stage is the project at?
-       What reports have been approved, what letters by the state have been given?
-       What reports and approvals that are yet to be done?

2.    What are implications of the degazettement and construction on the state’s authority and ability to enforce, monitor, oversee the degazetted area and have a say in the type of development allowed?

3.    What other developments are being targeted within the vicinity of area that is proposed to be degazetted for the EKVE?
High tension wires, petrol stations, rest stations, telecommunication towers, MRT line, housing?  Studies have shown that 95 percent of forest loss occurs within 50 km of a road.

4.    As the Landowner, has the State Government seen the concession agreement? What are the implications on the land based on the concession agreement? 
For example.
  1. The 50 year concession agreement -  Both the federal and state government have been silent about the concessionaire agreement. According to an email that received received from YB William (MP Selayang), Selangor State MPs and ADUNs has not seen it.  What is in the agreement and what other development is AZRB allowed to do – for example rest areas, petrol stations, administrative buildings, pipelines
  2. Will the concessionaire have the right to develop land along the expressway without any restrictions or restricted development – What are the conditions? 
eg Development of petrol stations, rest areas, buildings at toll plazas, pipelines
  1. What say will the State government have in the area, if it is degazetted, or after the highway is built?

5.    What are the Facts to Show that the Area Proposed for Degazettement and for the Construction of the EKVE Is No Longer Needed in Its Role as Forest Reserves and Water Catchment Forest? 

6.    How can the State Government justify jeopardising these water catchment forests that are protecting our existing water supply by degazetting the forest reserves and constructing the EKVE?

The Ampang Intake plant supplies 19 million litres of potable water per day to 9,225 accounts in the Ampang area. The Ulu Gombak forest reserve is a catchment for the Klang Gates Dam. The raw water from Klang Gates is piped to the Bukit Nanas Water Treatment Plant to be treated. The capacity of the treatment plant is 145 million litres per day (mld) providing water for 98 square kilometres of the City Centre.

The Selangor State Structure Plan states that all existing main raw water resources have been fully used. While we are now going to start importing water from the planned Kelau Dam in Pahang at huge costs financially and environmentally, this project will only supplement our existing water supply – not replace it. 


7.    What Are the Facts to Show that the EKVE Will Bring Greater Economic Benefit to the State as Compared to the Economic Benefits the Affected Area Is Already Bringing to the State as Water Catchment Forest?  What about the Negative Economic impacts that could result from the highway project?

The construction of a highway and its after effects will result in soil erosion that will affect our water quality. The US Forest Service economists have concluded that the value of non-extractive benefits (including clean water supply, clean air and outdoor recreation) far outweighs the value of extractive activities. By protecting pristine water catchment forests, the city of New York is saving USD$4billion a year in filtration costs alone. It would not be wrong to say the same would hold true for Malaysia.

Both the Ampang and Ulu Gombak forests are near pristine state with the rivers feeding the Ampang Intake Point and the Klang Gates Dam classified as Class 1 currently.  While the project proponent has proposed mitigation measures, the execution of these measures may not provide ecosystem sustainability in the long run.  It is a risk not worth taking.

The water crisis has had a negative economic impact on the revenues of numerous factories, businesses and shops. According to the Federation of Malaysian Manufacturers (FMM), in a prolonged drought, the costs could be as much as RM15 million daily.  A total of 821 project applications have been put on hold as of the end of March in Selangor, Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya due to the shortage.  In the long term, this will affect the state’s image as a favourable investment hub, losing out to other states such as Johor that is rich in water.

The water crisis is also increasing other environmental issues that would have an adverse effect on the Selangor.  For example, during the water rationing, many shops and residences resorted to disposal packaging in the form of Styrofoam and plastic to deal with the lack of water.  This will lead to increases in the cost and problems associated with waste disposal in the state.



8.     Why is the Information on the Proposed Construction of the EKVE and Degazettement of the forest reserves and Park not Published on the State Forestry Department and State Government Website?

While the Selangor Forestry Department posted notices of the plans to degazette sections of the forest reserves, it was on an extremely limited basis, and information relating to the planned degazettement was also extremely limited.  Based on interactions with members of the public in Gombak and Hulu Langat, 80% of the people asked were not aware of the proposed expressway through the forests, and the plan to degazette parts of the forest reserves for the construction of the expressway. 

9.    Why did a representative of the State Exco state that no water catchment forests would be affected by Phase 1 of the EKVE?

State executive councillor for Youth, Sports and Public Amenities Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi said even though the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) of the project was approved on April 25, the approval was limited only to 24.16km of the stretch extending from Sungai Long Interchange to Ukay Perdana Interchange, In reply to a question from Razaly Hassan (PAS-Dusun Tua),

"The state government has not granted approvals for the project covering the area of Gombak and the water catchment areas," he said at the state assembly sitting.”

Phase 1 of the EKVE will cut through the Ampang Forest Reseve.  The Ampang Forest Reserve is gazetted as a water catchment forest the Forestry Department.  The Ampang Forest Reserve has been listed as an Environmentally Sensitive Area (ESA) since the Draft Structure Plan for Ampang came out in 1996(8).

10.  Phase 2 is an inevitable outcome of constructing Phase 1 of the EKVE, this was stated by a representative of State Exco(below)  Will this area also undergo degazettement?

While the DOE has stated that Phase 2 of the EKVE has not been approved, YB Iskandar Abdul Samad, the chairman of Housing, Building and Urban Settler Management Committee has been quoted saying:

Another suggestion is to end the highway in Ukay Perdana and upgrade the roundabout there but according to Iskandar, the expressway will lose its purpose if it did not connect to the Universiti Islam Antarabangsa area.”

This implies that the State government is willing to allow the expressway also run through a second water catchment forest – the Ulu Gombak water catchment forest.


11.  How is the EKVE inline with Selangor State Government’s Push for Sustainable Transport & Development?


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