RESIDENTS are taking a property developer in Taman Desa, Kuala Lumpur to task for speeding up its construction work even as the local authority is being sued in a bid to cancel the project.

“It appears that the developer has chosen to accelerate the project, so that by the time the case is heard in court, substantive ground work would have taken place and can no longer turn back or ‘undo’ what has been done without incurring significant economic losses,” the Protect Taman Desa coalition of residents said in a statement today.

The residents had complained to the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) about ongoing land clearing and construction activists on the site on Sunday.

“Indeed, a DBKL van came (presumably from the enforcement unit) and only then did the activities on the site stop,” said the residents, who have been taking photos and videos of the construction site on a daily basis.

However, the next day, heavy vehicles could be seen obstructing traffic on the narrow roads leading to the project site situated next to two primary schools, a secondary school and three low-rise residences, said the coalition.

“When the rain came in the afternoon yesterday, the ugly effects of the accelerated clearing and construction work i.e. mud flow, loose gravel etc. appeared for all to see for themselves,” it added.

Eleven residents, backed by the coalition, filed a suit against DBKL in March for approving the project to build three condominium blocks between 34 and 42-storey high with a total of 649 units, named The Address, on Tenaga National Bhd reserve land.

According to the KL Draft City Plan 2020, the site was supposed to be gazetted as a green lung.

The court will hear on November 29 the developer’s application to be made a party to the suit.

The coalition said it has also lodge a police report after DBKL and unknown parties took down their protest banners within private compounds last week.

It added that the developer has not put up a signboard detailing information about the project and respective consultants as required by local by-laws at the construction site.

They also slammed DBKL for swiftly removing their protest banners but leaving the developer’s advertising banners alone until a complaint was lodge.

“The city hall’s selective enforcement gives the perception that the local authority is biased towards the developer,” said the coalition.

The residents are also upset that DBKL is allowing 12 more high-density residential projects in the neighbourhood without plans to upgrade its four-decade-old infrastructure, including public transport, roads and water pipes.

They have called on the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) to investigate one of the commercial projects approved on a site zoned for “library and public park use” last Saturday. – November 22, 2017.