Tanjung Bungah Residents’ Association (TBRA) chairperson Meenakshi Raman said this was to allow the State Commission of Inquiry (SCI) to take note of the changes in terrain prior to construction.
She said the matter could be discussed as part of the SCI’s decided terms of references, which would look into whether the site was on flat land or a hill slope.
“What is also material is an examination of the characteristics and overall conditions at the site and its surroundings, including the state of the site prior to the granting of planning approval and the changes made to the natural terrain,” Meenakshi said in a statement.
On Oct 21, a landslide at an affordable housing condominium project caused the death of 11 workers who were buried alive.
The Penang government subsequently proposed a SCI with town planning and geotechnical experts to determine the cause of the incident.
The inquiry will focus primarily on the “temporary worksite slope” and determine if the construction was a worksite accident.
State government says no projects on hill slopes, but city council approving them
Meenakshi said the association also welcomed the Penang government’s continued barring of projects on land above 76m or 250ft above sea level.
She said however that the Penang Island City Council (MBPP) appeared to have gone against this rule by allowing high-rise buildings and bungalows to be built in a project at Sungai Ara, Bayan Lepas.
Meenakshi said MBPP had approved 600 units of apartments and bungalows on an 80-acre plot of hill land in 2012.
She said the land was well beyond 76m above sea level and that almost half of of the units were above a gradient of 25 degrees.
“In fact, we are shocked to learn that the state authority had in 2011 approved an application by the developer to remove the ‘hill land’ status of the land under the Land Conservation Act 1960.
“MBPP relied on the 2009 guidelines for ‘Special Projects’ to allow the Sungai Ara project.
“These actions completely defy the state government’s stance that hill land must be protected,” she said.
Meenakshi said the major culprit was the “special projects” provision to develop hill land.
She called for an urgent change in policies to prevent local authorities from approving hill development.
“Revise or redefine what are ‘special projects’ in the 2009 guidelines to explicitly prohibit any future development on hill land except for essential public amenities.
“It must also stop approving any further applications for excision of the status of ‘hill lands’ from the Land Conservation Act 1960,” Meenakshi added.