Tashny Sukumaran | June 13, 2011
Residents of Bukit OUG condominium are worried hill slope development near their property is dangerous and want an environmental assessment done by DBKL.
KUALA LUMPUR: Kuala Lumpur mayor Ahmad Fuad Ismail has promised to get Ikram, an environmental assessment organisation, to conduct a check on the slope that is part of the Kiara Resources Properties development adjacent to Bukit OUG condominiums.
The mayor’s action comes after a protest from the Bukit OUG Condominiums Action Committee, who gathered outside Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) headquarters today.
The residents had become concerned over the safety of their property after parcels of land in the area were cleared, exposing a hill slope.
Ahmad Fuad reassured the protesters, saying that an environmental assessment would be carried out post-haste.
“Ikram will conduct a check on the slope to see whether it fits into the DBKL specifications and requirements.”
He also said that a lower-density development had only been “approved in principle and agreed by the committee but no official letter has been sent yet”.
He told a press conference that the project with the higher density had not yet been approved.
The perimeter wall of the Bukit OUG condominium sits on top of a hill slope which previously had trees on it.
Between Sungai Kuyoh and the Bukit OUG property lies three plots of land. Work on the first plot started June 5, but no clear signboards informing residents of the development projects were erected.
Access road
Resident and activist Tan Jo Hann explained that the KL City Plan 2020 clearly states that hillside development is prohibited on any slope which exceeds 35 degrees.
“The modified slope is almost vertical, 80 to 90 degrees.”
He added that the parcels of land now being worked on were, according to the City Plan, protected and under the Environmental Protection Zone of the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan.
“Land 50m from the river should not be developed.”
Tan claimed that work to clear the land had started even before the June 18 objection period deadline.
Kiara Resources plans to build four blocks of 19-storey condos on the cleared land. Another developer is building four blocks of condominiums of between 31 and 33 storeys on the adjacent lot.
A third developer, Trinity Group, intends to construct four high-rise buildings under its Z Residence Project.
Among the concerns the action committee possesses is the building of an access road which will connect the developments to the main road.
It will result in an unstable slope, as it runs in close proximity to the Bukit OUG condo perimeter wall.
Additionally, the developments will result in over-congested traffic flow.
“We have about 10,000 vehicles in our area,” said Charles Ho, Bukit OUG condo Resident’s Association VP.
“The proposed projects will increase the population to about 18,000.”