The clock has run out for nursery and landscaping operators along Jalan Sungai Buloh, as the one-month deadline to vacate the stretch known as Selangor Green Lane is up today.
Despite this, many of them remain on-site, amid a large amount of plants, furniture and heavy materials, as the owners continue to hope for a last-minute reprieve to secure new premises.
On March 16, the Petaling District and Land Office issued notices under Section 425 of National Land Code 1965, requiring the operators to vacate within 30 days.
The affected operators told StarMetro they spent the past month in a state of limbo, as some had stopped production and was searching for land while also grappling with the uncertainty of their future.
For many, the challenge was not just about moving, but finding sites with enough space, access, water supply and shelter for their businesses.
JC Goh, a second-generation nursery operator at Lot 49, said he stopped production to focus on clearing stock, but he still has no alternative site.
“I have not moved my plants because I do not have another location,” he said.
His search for a new site in the Klang Valley was unsuccessful, he lamented.
“If I find a place I like, it is too expensive or the land title excludes agricultural use.”
Goh said transport costs, worsened by volatile fuel prices linked to the Middle East conflict, had made relocation harder.
“I don’t know how many lorries will be needed to move the plants from my 0.2ha lot.
“Even then, I would not have a place to store them,” he said.
At Lot 50A, outdoor furniture business assistant manager Muhamad Danial Ilias said the one-month notice period, which coincided with Hari Raya Aidilfitri, was insufficient.
“Finding a new place in such a short time is one problem; setting it up is another,” he said.
His neighbour at Lot 50B, outdoor furniture business owner Muhamad Syuhaimi Abdullah said he was only completing existing orders.
He said the RM10,000 ex-gratia payment offered by the state government, taken up by some operators, was not enough to cover relocation costs.
“The rental deposit for a new piece of land may cost more than that, and this is before considering moving costs.”
He added that he would also need to spend money building new structures to protect his finished products from the weather.
The task is even more daunting for landscaping supply company Maxi Stone Marketing Sdn Bhd.
Regional sales manager Alvin Sor, from Lot 48, said the company only moved about 10% of its heavy stock to outlets in Kajang and Puchong.
“We would need about 100 containers to move everything.
“It is an enormous task.”
Another operator, Sunny Low clarified that the group was not objecting to development, but wanted more time and a practical solution.
“If the road needs to be widened, sit down with us and discuss how much land is needed.
“We are not trying to fight the government, we only want to have a dialogue,” he reiterated.
Low said that repeated attempts to reach the authorities via memoranda and letters had not produced a direct reply.
“Anything we want to tell the government, we have to do it through the media.”
The issue involves 66 lots along the stretch, where businesses have operated since 1999 under an arrangement involving Selangor Agricultural Development Corporation.
However, the temporary occupation licences were not renewed after 2008 because of underground water pipelines.
While several relocation plans, including a site in Bukit Changgang, Banting, were suggested over the years, operators claim these were either unsuitable, incomplete or never materialised.
The state recently moved to enforce the clearing of the land for long-delayed road widening and an elevated road project.
