SHAH ALAM, Feb 7 (Bernama) -- The Kuala Selangor Municipal Council (MPKS) has implemented various enforcement measures to address the issue of an illegal dumpsite and unauthorised land reclamation in Kampung Sri Sentosa and Kampung Sri Aman, Ijok, Kuala Selangor, near here.
MPKS president Mohamad Hanafe Basri said the area began to be inhabited through the government land disposal process since 2008, which saw land reclamation activities using construction and domestic waste becoming more widespread, causing various environmental and safety issues for residents.
He said in addressing the problem, MPKS had issued verbal warnings and compound notices to individuals and parties involved in land reclamation and illegal waste dumping, with more drastic measures taken in 2016, namely by closing the illegal waste dumping areas that drew many complaints and digging trenches to prevent vehicles from entering the area.
He said gates and illegal huts built at the entrance to the area were also demolished.
“Despite various actions taken, the problem of illegal waste dumping and land reclamation still persists.
Among the main challenges faced include high demand from landowners to reclaim their areas to prevent flooding, financial constraints of middle-income residents and difficulty in identifying the real landowners, in addition to the fact that waste dumping activities often occur outside of MPKS static monitoring hours," he said in a statement here today.
The statement followed a newspaper report yesterday which reported that the illegal landfill which used to be 20 hectares, has now grown in size to 52 hectares due to indiscriminate dumping of garbage, industrial, construction and domestic waste by irresponsible parties without control by the authorities.
The dire situation of an unbearable stench swarming with flies is a threat to the health of residents living in some 3,000 houses covering Kampung Sri Sentosa, Bandar Seri Coalfields, Alam Perdana and Daunan Worldwide.
Commenting further, Mohamad Hanafe said the ongoing problem of illegal waste disposal and land reclamation had spurred the state government to issue Selangor Land and Mines (PTGS) Directive No. 1/2019, which, among other things, aimed to coordinate enforcement between agencies to ensure that more integrated measures could be implemented.
Following this, he said the MPKS had established a Special Task Force on Illegal Waste Management which was responsible for coordinating actions between MPKS, Kuala Selangor District and Land Office as well as other enforcement agencies to ensure effective management of the illegal dumpsite.
“To effectively address this problem, MPKS has taken continuous enforcement action since 2020 to 2025 where during that period, a total of 135 vehicles were seized in addition to 281 compounds and 20 notices served. The year 2023 recorded the highest number of seizures with 34 vehicles seized, 75 compounds and eight notices issued,” he said.
Mohamad Hanafe said that apart from the action by MPKS, the Kuala Selangor District and Land Office had also taken action under the National Land Code 1965 by issuing notices 7A and 7B to landowners identified in illegal reclamation.
He said that to date, 33 7A notices have been issued to landowners and of that total, 28 notices had expired and action was continued with the issuance of Notice 7B.
He said 28 lots of land had been successfully remediated after further action was taken, with three landowners taking the initiative to remediate their land earlier than Notice 7B was issued, bringing the total number of remediated lands to 31 lots, while the remaining two lots of land were still in the process of preparing Notice 7B.
Mohamad Hanafe said to ensure a more effective long-term solution, MPKS had devised several remedial measures, including meetings with landowners to raise their awareness of the impact and legal implications of illegal reclamation activities.
He said integrated operations with the Kuala Selangor Land and District offices would also be increased for effective enforcement, besides installing prohibition signs and public announcements to warn of legal action against perpetrators.
Another measure being considered was the provision of remuneration as an incentive for the public to report illegal waste disposal activities to MPKS, he said.
-- BERNAMA
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