The Kelantan government will provide compensation, employment and business opportunities to the Orang Asli community affected by the Nenggiri Dam construction project in Gua Musang, Kelantan Public Works, Infrastructure, Transportation and Utilities Committee chairperson Azami Mohd Nor said.
According to Azami (above), the state government and Tenaga Nasional Berhad (TNB) have held an engagement session chaired by Suhakam and with several government departments present as well.
“In the engagement session, we agreed upon several measures. The first was to provide fair compensation based on the impact that would be faced, especially to those directly affected and the villages that will be submerged due to the construction of this dam.
“We will also provide appropriate compensation to the Orang Asli whose crops have sunk, even if their villages have not sunk.
"The third measure would be to provide employment and business opportunities to the Orang Asli during the construction phase of the project and operation of the power station.
"All parties are referred to in this compensation package and it has been submitted to the state government for approval," Azami (PAS-Kadok) said today when answering a question from Ab Aziz Yusoff (Umno-Nenggiri) at the fourth session of the 14th Kelantan State Assembly sitting at Kota Darulnaim Complex, Kota Bharu.
Azami also said that the Ministry of Energy and Natural Resources has sent a notification letter to TNB stating that the federal government had agreed in principle to continue the hydroelectric project, with some additional conditions.
The conditions include creating a company specifically for the project.
Work on the project to begin soon
TNB is currently processing the questions raised about the Nenggiri Dam project and is expected to submit them to the ministry within three months, he said.
"Work on the project is expected to begin in the fourth quarter of this year," Azami added.
In an additional reply, Kelantan Menteri Besar Ahmad Yakob informed the State Assembly that the state government would sign a cooperation agreement with TNB today.
"Today, insya-Allah, the agreement will be signed between the state government and TNB. Then it (the project) will begin," he said.
Previously, the hydroelectric project had received criticism from the Orang Asli community in the area, with more than 3,000 residents signing a memorandum objecting to the proposed dam on grounds that the project would have a significant impact on the environment and submerge their native customary lands.
A police report on the matter stopped all construction work on the Nenggiri and Lebir dams in Kelantan, which led to TNB going back to the negotiation table. - Mkini
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