State executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow (DAP-Padang Kota) said the drones had added a new dimension to the state’s surveillance of its hills to check for illegal activities.
He said since April, 37 cases of denuded hill areas had been detected using drones, seven of which were on private land and one on government land.
Chow said investigations were under way to determine if the 29 other spots were illegally cleared or the result of erosion.
Camera drones are remote-controlled aerial vehicles that have the advantage of capturing a bird’s eye view of the land, including hard-to-reach areas.
They were introduced to counter illegal land clearing for mostly farming and development projects.
According to the state Hill Land Working Committee, more than 100ha of land on the Penang Hill range have been cleared, mostly in Relau, Air Itam and Paya Terubong.
Chow said steps would be taken to enhance monitoring and enforcement.
For starters, the local authorities will extend their monitoring hours to weekends and public holidays and increase the number of employees in the hill watch unit.
“We are also in the midst of installing closed-circuit television (CCTV) cameras at 22 locations for permanent, live monitoring. We expect this to be completed in February.
“We will also boost the strength of our motorcycle squad to go directly into hotspot areas that are prone to encroachment.”
Chow said action against illegal clearing would be taken under the Street, Drainage and Buildings Act 1974.
He said local authorities were empowered to remove equipment, machinery and other vehicles to ensure no further land clearing takes place.