Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) is facing hurdles in demolishing three stalls in the first phase of the Lestari Niaga@KL initiative in Sri Petaling.
Following site visits to the stalls situated in Jalan Radin Anum on July 28 and Aug 19, DBKL cited the operators’ unwillingness to allow construction to commence, need to shift electricity and lamp poles, as well as traders wanting to restore the stalls by themselves, as reasons for the delay.
“Construction will start after these issues are resolved,” City Hall said in a statement to StarMetro, in response to the report “DBKL stall upgrades face controversy” on Aug 22.
In the writeup, 17 operators on Jalan Radin Anum identified for Lestari Niaga@KL upgrades described the project implementation as haphazard and unfair.
It was reported that DBKL only took down two of the five stalls scheduled for the first phase of demolition on Aug 1.
A DBKL notice dated July 17 had identified three demolition phases for the 17 stalls – the first (five stalls) scheduled from Aug 1 to Sept 30, the second (six stalls) from Sept 1 to Oct 30, and the third (six stalls) from Oct 1 to Nov 30.
In the statement, DBKL emphasised that Lestari Niaga was implemented based on existing hawkers’ census as well as other technical factors such as size of the site and physical obstructions.
“This is to ensure that all legal aspects and stakeholders’ interests are considered thoroughly.
“In the meantime, DBKL has taken into account feedback from business premises in the areas involved.
“The upgrades of the stalls will consider their needs, such as accessibility, so that business operations are not jeopardised,” City Hall said.
On the suggestion to build a multipurpose building on an existing carpark in Jalan Radin Bagus 8 to act as a hawker centre and multistorey parking facility, DBKL said a few engagement sessions had been carried out among representatives from the MP’s office, business operators, hawkers and residents’ associations.
However, no consensus had been reached, it said.
“Hence, the site will remain an open-air carpark for now.”
