From; Malaysiakini 12 Dec19 / Illega Kledang Saiong series
Sahabat Alam Malaysia is repeating its call for the proposed
orchard development in Kledang Saiong Forest Reserve near Chemor, Perak to be
halted, and the area re-gazetted as forest reserve land.
It calls into question the validity of the Environmental
Impact Assessment (EIA) Report for the proposed orchard development at Perak
Hi-Tech in Lot PT 253408 and 253409, which was approved by the Department of
Environment (DoE) on June 21, 2009.
"Based on the DoE’s stipulation, the validity of an EIA
report is only two years from the date the letter of approval is issued,"
said SAM president Meenakshi Raman in a statement today.
According to Meenakshi (below), at present, the activity in
the project area is "logging for the purpose of converting the forest to
other land use" covering 151.49 hectares of land from Nov 1, 2019 to Jan
30, 2020.
"This activity is subject to the requirement of an EIA
report as stipulated in the First Schedule of the Environmental Quality
(Prescribed Activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Order 2015 and
Section 34A of the Environmental Quality Act 1974 (Act 127).
"According to the Ipoh District Local Plan 2020, the
zoning of this project area is forest zone.
"The land owner may not convert the forest zone to
agriculture zone unless a zone alteration, revocation or replacement has been
carried out in the local plan in accordance with subsection 16 (1) of the Town
and Country Planning Act 1976 (Act 172)," she added.
SAM called on Perak Chief Minister Ahmad Faizal Azumu as the
exco in charge of the land and forest portfolio, the State Forestry Committee
chairperson and the PKNP chairperson to re-gazette the area as a Permanent
Reserved Forest to show the state government's commitment to conserve and
protect the environment.
SAM's call comes in the wake of a statement yesterday by the
Perak State Development Corporation (PKNP) which said that the clearing of the
land was for the development of orchards and not for logging activities.
PKNP said the joint venture project with Insan Permata Sdn
Bhd, involved the clearing of the land carried out under the agriculture
category to prevent landslides which could affect the eco-system in the area
under the condition stipulated in the Environment Management Plan (EMP).
PKNP also said the status of the land was that it was no
longer part of the protected Kledang Saiong Forest Reserve area.
PKNP also said it was confident that the planning and
implementation of the project will give a positive impact towards the
sustainability of the eco-system in the surrounding areas.
