It said in a statement today that 14 licences had been issued before the gazettement and of that number, only two were still operating.

One licence would expire at the end of this month while the other at the end of this year.

The department said state authorities are committed to ensuring that no new licences will be issued in the Tasik Chini area, apart from not compromising on the lessee or operator’s failure to comply with the conditions set.

It said immediate stop-work orders were issued to 11 lessees or operators in the Tasik Chini area in July last year for non-compliance with the conditions of the mining approval.

New rules were set for all lessees and operators, including clear demarcation, replanting of trees, registering the use of machinery and posting a RM250,000 guarantee bond.

The state forestry department carried out rehabilitation work and tree planting in 2019, involving an area of 1.2ha in the Tasik Chini area, it said.

It also said the water quality of Tasik Chini had been monitored since 2005, with 15 water monitoring stations, and the results found that the water quality was at a clean and safe level for all aquatic life.