A SECTION of Ukay Heights residents in Selangor fear land clearing on a hill slope near their homes will cause landslides, even though the local council has issued the developer a stop-work order.

Resident V. C. George said the work to stabilise the slope and repair a monsoon drain appeared to have done more harm than good.

“A signboard was put up with a file reference on it. It gave us the impression that the local authority (Ampang Jaya Municipal Council) was undertaking the work.” George, said at a meeting of residents of Jalan Tebrau.

The signboard told us that the work was stabilise the slopes and repair a monsoon drain; however, there was no need for it, said George.

“They bulldozed and excavated the trees, shrubs and vegetations on the slopes.”.

He said the denuding of the hill had increased the risk of landslides as the vegetation had helped to regulate the water runoff from the slope.

“The work of diverting or burying all the water that comes down the stream is also worrying us as it adds water retention in the soil, which makes it more susceptible to landslides.” George said.

He said over the last three weeks, 20-tonne lorries had dumped 50,000 tonnes of soil on the slope skirting.

Another resident Karim Abullah said the lorries had damaged the roads and the vibrations had even uprooted a tree. 

He said more trees were bound to fall either into residential homes or the main road unless the authorities took action quickly. 

“Because of the tonnes of soil carried in by the lorry trips, the whole road is compromised and authorities have to do something iabout erosion management.” he said.

The residents have an appointment with MPAJ on November 7 to discuss the problem.

MPAJ councillor, Nallan Dhanabalan told The Malaysian Insight that a stop-work order was issued to the contractor yesterday. The order was good for 14 days, he said.

“They have to fix the traffic disruptions, the technical issues of prior approvals by MPAJ and also for misleading the public into thinking it is a MPAJ project with their signboard. – November 1, 2018.