Kedah MB questions how EIA for Gunung Inas durian plantation approved

 

Kedah Menteri Besar Muhammad Sanusi Md Nor is puzzled how the Musang King durian plantation, which residents blame for the July 4 devastating mud floods in villages near Baling, obtained approval from the Department of Environment (DOE).

He said this is puzzling because of the elevation of the terrain, given regulations governing highlands 300 feet above sea level.

"I believe every plantation requires an Environmental Impact Assessment (report). How was the EIA approved? There is a regulation in the law which states that any highland ground over 1,000 feet (304 metres) must not be touched.

"However, during my observation yesterday, there were no timber trees at the peak of the hill. The logging was done up at the highest peak. This must be explained by the relevant department.

"I do not know how the project was given to forest farming, there should be an EIA. There are many strict regulations to be complied with in order to obtain approval," he was reported by the New Straits Times as saying yesterday.

Malaysiakini’s checks at the DOE’s EIA portal found no records of an EIA for a durian plantation in Gunung Inas Forest Reserve.

Sanusi said this despite earlier stressing there is no evidence to link the plantation to the floods, which killed three and displaced more than 1,000 residents in downstream villages.

He said the disaster was caused by heavy rain leading to unusual amounts of accumulated water at the catchment area.

He said the dams built on the mountain for a Musang King project were also still intact.

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READ MORE: Left with mud and debris, Baling folk blame durian plantation for disaster

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He also stressed that his administration had put a stop to work on the durian plantation in July 2020 and had ordered for trees to be planted as land cover following villagers’ complaints of smaller floods.

However, environmentalists said forest clearing in the catchment area and near rivers has reduced the rivers' ability to capture a large amount of water, causing it to flow unabated with mud and debris into the villages in the valley.

Checking identity

Sanusi, who spoke to local reporters at an event in Kulim yesterday, said his administration will now check who was the current land owner and who initiated the durian plantation in the first place.

"We need to check first the latest company that owns the land and initiated the Musang King plantation since this has been going on for some time and keeps on changing," he said.

He added that this is because the issues traced back to 2008, under the PAS administration led by the late Azizan Abdul Razak.

The area was first cleared for a poverty-alleviation rubber plantation under the Ladang Sejahtera project, but the plantation faced issues due to disputes over ownership of the logged timber.

Sanusi said when BN took over in 2013, under Mukhriz Mahathir, the land project was halted and the ownership changed hands, with the condition that the project is jointly-developed with Menteri Besar Kedah Incorporated.

Earlier, Menteri Besar Kedah Incorporated refuted claims that the durian plantation project caused the disaster.

It said there has been no active clearing since December 2020 and that the plantation only covers eight percent of the water catchment area.

The plantation area covers 600ha, of which 52 have been planted. - Mkini