Kedah to legalise settlements in encroached forest reserves

 

Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor said 3,428 hectares of permanent forest reserves in the state were affected. (MB’s Office pic)

GEORGE TOWN: Kedah will legalise kampung settlements built in encroached forest reserves, especially ones that have been in existence for a long time, the state assembly heard today.

Menteri besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor (PAS-Jeneri) said this would strictly apply to housing settlements, not farms or orchards.

He said this in revealing that 3,428 hectares of permanent forest reserves in the state had been encroached.

“The decision for us to legalise these housing settlements in the forest reserves is because it is troublesome when those staying there are unable to pass their property to their heirs.

“What we will do is legalise these settlements in (encroached) areas and gazette other forest areas to replace the ones lost,” he said.

He said the 3,428 hectares of illegally cleared forests had been part of the state’s forest rehabilitation and maintenance effort, replanting trees there at a cost of over RM12 million since 2018.

Sanusi said there were 344,865 hectares of forested land in the state, of which 341,895 hectares were permanent forest reserves, with the state targeting another 2,514 hectares to be marked as forest reserves.

He said this in response to a question by opposition leader Phahrolrazi Zawawi (PH-Alor Mengkudu), who had asked about the prevalence of cleared portions of areas gazetted as reserves. - FMT