App to monitor high-risk trees complements smart city system

MBSA will study trees for public safety as some may not be suitable for a specific area and could fall. -- Filepic

SHAH Alam City Council (MBSA) has developed a tree inventory application to assess the health of trees in the city to ensure public safety.

The application database called ‘e-Palsa’ was developed last year under the city council’s asset management initiative in line with the Smart Selangor concept to monitor and analyse high risk and dangerous trees.

“This is to complement our existing smart city asset management system,” said Shah Alam mayor Dr Nor Fuad Abdul Hamid.

“The data we collect from here will enable us to acquire more information about the trees.”

He was speaking to reporters after launching a two-day Shah Alam Smart City Action Plan Workshop 2023-2030 at the Shah Alam Convention Centre.

MBSA Planning Department deputy director Nurul Sheema Abdul Rahman said the tree inventory would be certified by an arborist.

“The information of each tree including the GPS will be mapped in this system, which is not available for the public yet.

“For now, the inventory covers trees planted by MBSA in Pusat Bandar Shah Alam in Section 14 only.

“We will expand this initiative all over Shah Alam in phases,” she said.

Nurul Sheema said their intention was to identify high risk and unsuitable trees planted in the city, such as non-native species like mahogany and tecoma especially in Kota Kemuning.

“Last week we conducted a workshop including risk assessment with relevant agencies to plan the landscaping for Shah Alam and identify which areas are in need of replanting,” she added.

In a StarMetro report Stumped by tree felling on Feb 13, arborist and landscape architect Hashim Gombri had said that trees like mahogany and tecoma were unsuitable to be planted on roadsides in city neighbourhoods.

This, he said, was because the soil condition and climate change had significantly reduced the stability of the big trees.