KUALA Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) will not approve Planning Permission for any development on retention pond land until the specific conditions set by the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) are met.
Minister in the Prime Minister Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh said that, based on DID’s technical assessment, development on retention pond land had affected the original function of the flood retention ponds.
“It also made maintenance work difficult to carry out.
“This is the case for the Jinjang and Batu flood retention ponds, where 17 land lots have been alienated to developers since 2015.
“An estimated 70% of the land area within the water body zones has been transferred to developers for development purposes.
“It resulted in a reduction in the ponds' capacity to 34.35ha compared with their original size of 114.5ha,” she said during a press conference at DBKL headquarters on Jalan Raja Laut, Kuala Lumpur.
Developers must fulfil DID's criteria if they want to develop the land, she said.
Yeoh said the Federal Territories Department has established a task force, chaired by its director-general, Datuk Muhammad Azmi Mohd Zain, comprising various agencies to strengthen coordination and flood-mitigation efforts in Kuala Lumpur.
“The task force is looking into development on retention pond land in all Federal Territories.
“They will also engage counterparts from Selangor, as maintenance of rivers also includes the neighbouring state,” she added.
Meanwhile, Kuala Lumpur mayor Datuk Seri Fadlun Mak Ujud said that DBKL would strengthen flood mitigation efforts focused on 14 flood hotspots.
The areas include Jalan Sultan Azlan Shah, Lebuhraya Sultan Iskandar, Bulatan Dato Onn, Jalan Tun Sambanthan, Brickfields, Jalan Chan Sow Lin, Jalan Sultan, Jalan Cheras, Jalan Pudu, Jalan Genting Klang and Jalan Pintasan Segambut.
