GEORGE TOWN, June 12 — The Penang Island City Council (MBPP) has issued a stop work order against a landowner found illegally clearing a piece of land on Bukit Laksamana.
Local government committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said the landowner has been told to stop clearing the land.
“They have been directed to carry out mitigation works instead,” he said in a press conference at Komtar here today.
He added that the landowner is supposed to carry out mitigation works to prevent landslides due to earlier land clearing works.
Recently, Teluk Bahang assemblyman Datuk Shah Headan Ayoob Hussain Shah visited the site and called a press conference demanding that the MBPP and state government do something to stop the illegal land clearing.
Illegal clearing may affect the Teluk Bahang Dam as the land is situated near the water catchment area of the dam.
It was reported that more than 2ha of land on the hill had been cleared in the past few months.
Chow said orders have also been issued to tear down any structures built on the piece of land.
He added that he believes the land was cleared for agricultural purposes, not for development.
