By Nadiah Zamlus
KUALA LANGAT, Sept 28 — The Selangor administration will replace the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve with a total of 1,177.31 hectares of land should it proceed with the plans to degazette the said forest reserve area.
The State Environment, Green Technology, Science and Consumer Affairs Committee chairman Hee Loy Sian said the state government will gazette a bigger area to include 308.6 hectares of the Sungai Panjang Forest Reserve, 606.8 hectares of the Sabak Bernam Forest Reserve, and the Ampang Pechah forest in Hulu Selangor.
“The Selangor State Executive Council have approved the replacement of the forests on January 31.
“The state government is also mulling the approval of expanding the area to be replaced, which include 190.2 hectares in Ampang Pechah, Mukim Buloh Telor, Hulu Langat. This is due to the high biodiversity that makes it suited as a forest reserve,” he said when met at the public hearing on the proposed degazetting of the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve, at the Amverton Resort on Pulau Carey, yesterday.
Hee said the state administration is open in accepting the objections against the proposal from the economic, social and environmental aspects.
“Therefore, the town hall session was held to continue with the public investigation process on the proposed degazetting of the forest reserve and I hope that the public would present their objection through this platform professionally,” he said.
In February, the Selangor government had published a public notice announcing its plan to degazette 930.93 hectares (97.1 per cent) of the Kuala Langat North Forest Reserve for a mixed development project.
The forest reserve was gazetted on May 13, 1927, with a total area of 7,247 hectares. However, it is now left with a remaining 957.6 hectares and is surrounded by various development.
The proposed plan to develop the forest reserve area was due to the rapid development in the surrounding areas, which includes the residential and commercial property developments Saujana Putra and Gamuda Cove, the North-South Expressway Central Link (Elite), and the Bukit Cheeding tea plantation.
The process of changing land status is made in accordance with Section 11 (b) of the National Forestry Act 1984 (Act 313), which allows the state to degazette forest reserves if it is required for high economic use.
However, the Act under Section 12 states that the degazetted land must be replaced with another forest reserve of approximately equal area.
