SIVARAS IN SUPPORT

Objection signatures and memo submitted to MBPJ
By TAN KARR WEI


RESIDENTS of Bandar Sri Damansara are firm on their stand to oppose any development on Meranti Hill along Persiaran Meranti.

About 200 residents staged a peaceful protest at the parking area of the Paradesa Rustica condominiums last Sunday, under the scorching afternoon sun.

“We saw what happened at Bukit Antarabangsa (referring to the Dec 6 landslide which killed five people) and we don’t want the same thing to happen here,” Paradesa Tropica joint management committee adviser Andrew Tan said.

During a public hearing at the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ) headquarters last week, the residents found out that in addition to the 12 highrise blocks of 35 to 36 storeys, similar to those in the previous proposal, the developer had included a 0.79ha commercial lot in the plans.

“We are stressing again that Persiaran Meranti is a narrow road that can’t cope with the additional 7,000 cars projected from the development,” Tan said.

He said there was already soil erosion at several places around the hill and the Rustica condominium car park would be flooded whenever it rained heavily.

According to Subang MP Sivarasa Rasiah, under the Petaling Jaya Local Draft Plan 2 (RTPJ2), many development projects are being proposed for PJ.

“There are attempts to turn PJ into a city like KL but we don’t have the necessary road infrastructure and transport facilities to support the heavy traffic,” he said.

The residents also handed over a memorandum together with about 1,500 objection signatures to MBPJ councillor Chan Chee Kong, highlighting their concerns over the project.

Chan said that this was the third proposal that the MBPJ had received for the development and the council would look into the application after hearing the objections.

When contacted, a spokesman for the developer said they had followed all procedures and were only building on class 1 and 2 slopes.

“We will make sure that all the safety and engineering practices are carried out and had also given an undertaking during one of the objection hearings to compensate residents if anything happens during construction,” he said.

He added that the developer had heard residents’ grouses regarding density and had reduced the number of blocks from the initial 15 to 12.