EKVE: Public hearing on proposal to degazette forest reserves to be held soon

(Fz.com) – A public hearing on the proposal to degazette 106 hectares of the Selangor State Park to make way for the East Klang Valley Expressway (EKVE) will be held as early as next week.

State executive councillor for Tourism, Consumer Affairs and Environment Elizabeth Wong, said today the hearing will be headed by state government agencies such as the Selangor Water Management Board (Luas), Selangor Forestry Department secretariat and Selangor state executive councillor for Youth, Sports, Public Infrastructure and Amenities Dr Ahmad Yunus Hairi.

She said until now, the state government had yet to grant necessary approvals for the project.

“There is no firm decision yet (on degazettement of forest reserves). It depends (on the public hearing),” she told reporters after the state assembly sitting.

“The state executive council agreed that there must be a public hearing on the matter. It will be held sometime at the end of the month,” she added.

The state Forestry Department officials could not be reached for immediate confirmation.

Two years ago, the EKVE, formerly known as the Kuala Lumpur Outer Ring Road (KLORR), was proposed to cut through important water catchment areas, namely the Ampang, Hulu Langat and Hulu Gombak Forest Reserves which form part of the 108,000ha Selangor state park.

The initial proposal of the highway involved a tunnel below the Klang Gates Quartz Ridge in the Hulu Gombak Forest Reserve and circumvents the Klang Gates Dam.

However, Wong said the earlier proposal, involving some 214.7ha of forested area, has been scrapped.

“This is a new alignment at the margins of the Selangor state park,” she said.

“In fact, DOE (Environment Department) has put in writing that the alignment must be below the Ampang Intake Point,” she added, referring to the area where water is processed by a treatment plant for the needs of Kuala Lumpur, located in the Ampang Forest Reserve.

In a statement last month, the Coalition for the Protection of the Selangor State Park said the park is the largest stretch of contiguous forest tract left in the state, and is classified as a Rank 1 Environmentally Sensitive Area in the National Physical Plan-2 (NPP-2).

Under such a tag, no development, agriculture or logging should be permitted in the state park and water catchment forests.

The only concession that should be made is for ecotourism, research and education.

Water catchment areas serve as important vats and filters for water supply in the state.

The Detailed Environment Impact Assessment (DEIA) of the project was approved in March last year, based on the revised alignment.

The federal government had reportedly signed the agreement with Ahmad Zaki Resources Bhd in February 2012.

Wong said once the public feedback is gathered, it will be presented in the Selangor Economic Council meeting (MTES) which will make a decision on the project.

She said the state government has imposed certain criteria for the highway, including unencumbered passage for wildlife to roam through the state park.

She also said according to Section 12 of the National Forestry Act 1984, if the forested area is excised from gazettement, it will need to be replaced with the same amount of forested area.

“We will need to find an area that is connected to the forest reserve because there is no point in gazetting an isolated forested area,” she added.

Yesterday, Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim said the state government adheres to a policy instituted in 2012 whereby it would encourage the construction of highways all over the state to alleviate traffic congestion on major road networks.

However, he also proposed that highways must protect the interests of the public.