PJD Link: Residents give authorities 7 days to release EIA

Residents have given the authorities seven days to hand over the Environmental Impact Assessment (EIA) and other documents linked to the controversial proposed Petaling Jaya Dispersal Link (PJD Link) highway.

Four Petaling Jaya residents through their counsel Lim Wei Jiet issued the ultimatum through letters of demand (LOD) sent to the Town and Country Planning Department (PlanMalaysia) and the Selangor State Economic Action Council (MTES) yesterday.

According to the LOD, the four residents are prepared to take legal action to ensure access to not only the EIA but also the Social Impact Assessment (SIA) and Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) linked to the project, which is opposed by the residents.

When contacted today, Lim said that the residents require access to these documents in order to study the findings as well as the veracity, independence, and methodology used by PJD Link (M) Sdn Bhd's consultants in arriving at their findings.

He said this is so the residents can provide a response or a counter-report if necessary, especially because the authorities would decide on the approval of the PJD Link project based primarily or solely on these EIA, SIA, and TIA reports submitted by the company.

Lim Wei Jiet

The lawyer pointed out that some residents have raised concerns about the methodology deployed by the consultants, as well as the alleged lack of transparency and detailed information in several focus group discussions conducted by the consultants.

He said the four residents are also requesting copies of the minutes of the focus group discussion, the detailed alignment design of the PJD Link highway, and all other documents submitted to support the approval of the project.

“The four residents stated that they would be directly affected by the construction of the PJD Link, in terms of escalating traffic jams in the area, disturbance to the wellbeing of local communities, overdevelopment, noise pollution, and negative repercussions on the environment.

“Therefore, they have the right to be given access to these documents in order to provide the necessary input to the authorities as persons affected.

“They also said that government bodies have an obligation to uphold transparency, accountability, and the right to information,” Lim said.

Malaysiakini has reached out to PlanMalaysia and MTES for their response.

Online survey

Previously, it was reported that residents opposed to the PJD Link highway would resort to legal action if the project is approved by the Selangor government.

Petaling Jaya resident Ding Jo Ann was reported as saying the group is raising funds to file a judicial review application in the civil court.

The group had earlier launched an independent SIA report with the participation of 2,501 residents impacted by the proposed PJD Link highway alignment.

The purpose of the survey stemmed from an alleged lack of transparency regarding the official SIA and to obtain the views of stakeholders in the PJD Link construction area.

The strictly online survey held from Feb 6 to May 1 this year concluded that 88.6 percent of the respondents strongly disagreed with PJD Link.

Additionally, 93.6 percent of the respondents stated that they and their families will be impacted by this project.

Approved in principle

Damansara Kim resident Dominic Wong reportedly said the group’s independent SIA was submitted to PLANMalaysia Selangor and Putrajaya on May 12 for consideration.

The group’s SIA was also submitted to the Department of Environment (DOE).

The Works Ministry on July 5, 2022, stated that the cabinet had already approved, in principle, the PJD Link project on Nov 12, 2017. The final approval is, however, subject to further negotiations.

According to the statement, a concession agreement was signed on April 5 last year, which required the developer to fulfil the requirements of the EIA, SIA, and TIA before the agreement could take effect and construction begin.

According to the PJD Link website, it will have a total of 11 interchanges spanning from Bandar Utama to the Bukit Jalil Highway, connecting with expressways such as the Federal Highway, Sprint, New Pantai Expressway, and Kesas Highway. - Mkini