The Federal Territories Department is studying the feasibility of turning carparks into pocket parks to help address flash floods in the city.
Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh said flood mitigation required Kuala Lumpur to function like a sponge city.
“The capital city cannot be a sponge city if every green space that is meant to take rainwater is turned into concrete buildings.
“So, I am looking into where we can create more pocket parks.
“We are studying land currently being used as carparks, whether legal or illegal,” she told StarMetro in an exclusive interview at Menara Seri Wilayah in Putrajaya.
When asked how she would strike a balance between carparks and recreational space, Yeoh said it was a matter of give and take.
“You cannot have everything.
“I do not have the luxury of coming into a space that has plenty of land for me to restructure, as Kuala Lumpur is so dense and populated.
“With very little land, I have to solve the problem while balancing the interests of the general public,” she said.
In a bid to strengthen the city’s climate resilience and disaster preparedness, Yeoh said the Federal Territories Department was also preparing a Cabinet paper on flood mitigation and looking into whether current water retention ponds could accommodate rainfall capacity.
“There are also plans to study if the current number of detention ponds is enough and whether there is a need to build more and include them in the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) budget next year.
“We had a briefing with the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) which had raised their concerns. I am prioritising this matter,” she said.
On developments that take place near or on retention pond land, Yeoh said she would take a conservative approach in such project applications.
“I am not saying that I am biased, because I see the effects of such development.
“For such proposals, I fall back on technical departments in DBKL and DID, who advise us during the one-stop-centre meeting,” Yeoh said, adding that she was also looking into a budget for river cleaning.
