SPAD says MRT land acquisition notices legal

The Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) has assured Taman Tun Dr Ismail residents here that their houses or land will not be acquired until the regulator receives feedback and finalises details of the Klang Valley Mass Rapid Transit (MRT).

It also maintained today that the authorities had acted within legal boundaries in its method of informing residents that their land may be acquired to make way for the 51km line from Sungai Buloh to Kajang.

SPAD chief executive officer Mohd Nur Kamal, in a statement this evening, said that the decision would only be made after public viewing on the multibillion ringgit rail project closes on May 14.

“The government will ensure that all information will be provided during the public display to engage and receive feedback from residents, not only in Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) but in other affected areas, so that the final outcome would cause minimal disturbance and inconvenience to the rakyat.

“At the same time, it will ensure the rakyat benefits from the proposed Klang Valley MRT Sungai Buloh-Kajang (SBK) line,” he said.

Mohd Nur was responding to recent complaints raised by TTDI residents in the media over notices they had discovered in their neighbourhood, informing them that their land would likely be acquired for the SBK line, the first line in the three-line MRT.

The residents had found the notices, dated February 10, stuck on trees and lamp posts along the streets last week and had cried foul over SPAD's method of informing them of the impending acquisition.

Mohd Nur said that the notices had been issued according to procedures outlined under the Land Acquisition Act 1960 and the National Land Code.

Under section 4 of the Act, he said, the respective Land and Mines Department director in every state was responsible for pinning up the notices “as close to the land as possible”, informing the public that the area had been gazetted for possible acquisition.

“It is only after public feedback has been received and consultations undertaken with various bodies that the exact plots of land that may be acquired can be confirmed.

“At this stage, under section 8 of the Act, individual owners of the plots of land to be acquired will be notified directly,” he said, adding that the procedure was similar for any piece of land to be acquired by the government.

Mohd Nur also noted that in most cases, the actual area of acquisition was often smaller than the original proposal.

In the TTDI case, he said the Federal Territories Land and Mines office had put up the notices on the proposed allocations in the “general vicinity” of the area, while SPAD had pinned a note of its own to explain the notice.

This, he added, was to provide a clearer picture to those who may be affected by the acquisition.

“It is only after public feedback is received throughout the public display period from February 14 to May 14 would a final decision be made on which particular plots of land would need to be acquired, if at all.

“Following this, SPAD will share the feedback on the process of notice issuance with the relevant agencies with an eye towards improving the government’s services to the rakyat,” he said.

According to the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) study on the MRT, occupants of 473 lots of land totalling 97 hectares will have to make way for the project.

They include those in diverse areas such as TTDI as well as Malay reserve land located along the 51km rail line.

Of the lots that are set to be acquired, 103 are located within the Sungai Buloh-Semantan stretch, 163 over the underground section between Semantan and Maluri in Kuala Lumpur, and 207 along the Maluri-Kajang segment.

The SBK line will start from the Sungai Buloh KTM station and make its way through the capital city and four other municipalities before ending at the Kajang KTM station, where the report said there would be a "loss of social cohesion, sense of community and current lifestyle for long standing communities" while land owners would suffer as the "value of property may decline if only part of the lot is acquired."

"Residents affected by the acquisition and relocation could potentially endure problems such as temporary disruption to lives and loss of social cohesion unless they relocate within the immediate neighbourhood.

"In the case of businesses, there will be potential loss of customers — particularly businesses that rely on the local neighbourhoods," said the project's environmental consultant ERE Consulting Group in the report.

The Klang Valley MRT will have 35 stations along its 51km line that stretches from Sungai Buloh to Kajang, with 13 proposed park-and-ride stations and four interchanges.

Eight of the stations will be underground as 9.5km of the line will be built under the capital city. Groundwork for the MRT is due to start this July 16 and will be completed in 2016.

The MRT is an entry-point project identified for the Greater Kuala Lumpur/Klang Valley National Key Economic Area under the Economic Transformation Programme.

Its proposed alignment map for the SBK is up for public viewing until May 14 at seven locations across the city.

They are Kuala Lumpur City Hall, Petaling Jaya City Council, Shah Alam City Council, Selayang Municipal Council, Kajang Municipal Council as well as the Bangsar LRT station and the SPAD office in Menara Dayabumi.

The public can provide their feedback on the project via email to feedback@kvmrt.com.my or through the SPAD toll-free line at 1-800-82-6868. - Malaysian Insider