MPPP rapped for failing to keep watch on hillside development

MPPP rapped for failing to keep watch on hillside development
By CHRISTINA CHIN
sgchris@thestar.com.my

GEORGE TOWN: An assemblyman here has taken the Penang Municipal Council to task for allegedly failing to monitor hillslope development in the state.
DAP’s Tanjung Bungah assemblyman Teh Yee Cheu said the council and developers must bear full responsibility if a landslide occurs.
“Although it was the previous state government that approved all the hillslope projects here, the state Town and Country Planning Department must be aware of danger-prone areas and the council must monitor the work that goes on there.
“Otherwise, if anything happens, they, together with the developer, must be accountable,” he told a press conference yesterday.
Teh claimed that when queried the relevant authorities recently, they couldn’t even identify the landslide-prone areas, much less report on the projects there.
“When I asked an officer how such areas were identified, he appeared dumbfounded but later said it was based on sight (whether the development and hillslope area looked dangerous).”
He said there must be a proper plan to identify high-risk areas and standard operating procedures (SOP) must be in place to monitor hillslope projects before it was too late.
Teh urged the council to refer to the recent environmental research utilising the geographic information system (GIS), experts and non-governmental organisations if it did not have the relevant knowledge.
“Clearly, the council has no expertise to monitor hillslope development. They should establish a geo-technical committee instead of simply relying on the Institute of Civil Engineering (Ikram).
“Whenever the council needed a geo-technical report, they will refer to Ikram, and when there is a dispute, the council will ask the developer to get a second opinion from a private consultant who would usually not even bother to visit the site and just refer to the Ikram report,” he said.
Teh denied he was hitting out at state Local Government and Traffic Management Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow and state Health, Welfare, Environment and Caring Society Committee chairman Phee Boon Poh over the matter.
In an immediate response, Chow said the council could not be setting up numerous specialist committees when it was more efficient to refer technical issues to other expert agencies.
“The council is like a clinic. When a patient comes in with a complicated health problem, he needs to be referred to a specialist because we do not have the expertise to treat him.”