GEORGE TOWN: Culprits behind the illegal land clearing close to a water catchment area in Bukit Laksamana will face the music.
Following an intense criticism on the lack of action against the landowners who had illegally cleared a hilltop, the Penang Island City Council will take action.
Apart from taking the defiant owners to court, they will be also made to repair the 'bald' portions of the hill, replete with proper irrigation channels.
In a press conference yesterday, Penang Island City Council (MBPP) secretary Ang Aing Thye said the vegetation stripped portion, which was divided into four plots, was owned by different individuals.
"We will not leave out any one of them. All will be brought to court.
"We will work out for a deterrent action for those who had chopped the trees and carried on earthworks despite our stop-work orders," he said.
Ang said legal documents are also being prepared to be sent to the Deputy Public Prosecutor's office for further action under the Environment Quality Act 1974.
The act carries a jail sentence of up to five years and a fine of up to RM500,000.
Meanwhile, he said MBPP had yet to identify the actual number of landowners involved in land clearing, as the engineering department had been waiting for a report from Department of Survey and Mapping (JUPEM).
"We need to ascertain the extent of damages in terms of boundary on the hill before identifying the culprits," Ang said.
He also explained that media reports of 36 chalets being built were also inaccurate, that only two wooden structures were found at the cleared hillslope.
In a case of blatant defiance, a land measuring some two football fields were stripped by a landowner at Bukit Laksamana, Teluk Bahang since early last year.
The local authorities have then issued two stop-work orders in April last year and January this year, but the landowners carried on with works to build 36 chalets.
Also, a newly-tarred access road was built.
The developer, whose identity is not known, was also reported to have ignored a court order by the district land office.
Environment groups have also called for urgent action on the development, as the water supply to the Air Itam dam is channelled by water from Bukit Laksamana.
This is because the Sungai Daun, the primary supplier of water to the dam, is fed by water from Bukit Laksamana.
On Monday, non-governmental organisation the Citizens Chant Group (Chant) criticised the council for issuing a third stop work order, despite knowing that the landowners did not budge after two cessation notices served on them last year and earlier this year.
Its adviser, Professor Jimmy Lim described the state government's issuance of two stop work orders in Bukit Laksamana as 'window dressing'.
Meanwhile, Local Government Committee chairman Chow said the state government had formed a special committee to act against land clearing near water catchment areas in Penang.
He said the committee would be headed by state secretary Datuk Seri Farizan Darus and it would preserve the areas from any development to ensure the water quality.
On a different matter, Chow said the Bahasa Malaysia version of the George Town Special Area Plan (SAP) is complete and its content has been approved.
He said the plan would be translated into English before it is being gazetted.
The SAP covers an area of 109.38ha in the core zone of the inner city of George Town, and 150.4ha of the buffer zone, and is meant to strengthen and formalise the management of the heritage site.
The delay in gazetting the SAP has resulted in the state government holding back on the Penang Local Plan, which had been approved by the then Penang Island Municipal Council in 2008.
The local plan is meant to govern the areas of developments, such as residential, commercial and industrial zones and also the density of developments in the said zones.
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