Carpark project in Taman Puchong Intan to proceed

All the trees in the recreational park in Jalan Intan 2 have been cut to make way for a carpark.

SUBANG Jaya City Council (MBSJ) has set a precedent for other housing developments by allowing a public recreational park in Taman Puchong Intan, Selangor, to be converted into a carpark for residents of a nearby apartment, a local leader says.

Selangor MCA Public Complaints Bureau chief Lawrence Chiew said that with many housing developments lacking parking space, some developers elsewhere might try to do something similar and take over adjacent public spaces.

He said existing residential developments facing parking problems might also apply to extend their parking space if there were public spaces nearby.

“Lack of parking space is a common problem, especially in high-rise housing developments.

Chiew says lack of parking space is a common problem in high-rise housing projects.

“So, if one apartment obtains an exception to take over a public park to solve its parking problem, others may follow suit,” he said.

On Jan 26, MBSJ had approved the application to convert a 0.28ha area of a 0.4ha park in Jalan Intan 2 into an open-air carpark with 107 bays for Intan Apartment.

It is learnt that MBSJ had sought the consent of only the apartment’s joint management body.

Residents nearby who objected to the project proceeded to file a memorandum at the city council to call it off, citing the legality of such a land conversion without their consent, as well as social and environmental impact to the surroundings.

After MBSJ met with stakeholders on April 28, the city council issued a letter allowing the project to proceed on May 15.

Work on the project site has started.

Some 24 trees in and around the park were felled on June 9 and 10.

Selangor MIC information chief Awtar Singh said residents who witnessed the tree-cutting last week were not allowed to record the activities from close range and forced by the authorities to delete any video files on the spot

“Police reports were made on the incident.

“Residents’ representatives also rushed to MBSJ headquarters on June 9 and were told about the letter dated May 15, which was supposedly sent out to all meeting attendees, but none of them had received it.

“The letter stated that MBSJ had found the objectors’ suggested solutions impractical.

“It also instructed the developer to expedite land matters as instructed by the Petaling Land Office and build a carpark as soon as possible.

“It stated that the land office must issue an approval letter for the developer to enter the site and start work,” he said.

Awtar, a former Subang Jaya councillor who served on the One-Stop Centre committee which processed project applications, said it was unusual for MBSJ to issue such a letter.

“All land matters should have been settled before any plan is approved.

“It is odd for MBSJ to issue a letter regarding a project before the land office’s approval,” he said.

Save Jalan Intan 2 Recreational Park Pro-tem Committee chief S. Deva Varman said an MBSJ officer had informed during a meeting in April that there were only 8.6% open spaces in Taman Puchong Intan.

“I learnt that every development must have 10% open spaces, but MBSJ refuses to give me a document about the remaining open space in the neighbourhood,” he said.

MBSJ declined to comment on the matter at press time.

However, in a StarMetro report on April 23, Subang Jaya mayor Datuk Johary Anuar said the project was inevitable because a Rumah Selangorku development had been approved on part of the apartment’s compound.