GEORGE TOWN, Jan 31 — Five pieces of land in Batu Maung have been used as illegal dumpsites, state exco Datuk Abdul Halim Hussain revealed today.
The Batu Maung assemblyman said four belonged to the government while the fifth was in private hands.
Despite some being boarded up, Abdul Halim said the hoardings were breached and lorry-loads of solid waste were illegally dumped there.
“Two pieces of land belonged to Penang Development Corporation (PDC), behind the Diamond Valley Industrial Park,” he said.
The five illegal dumpsites are found across Batu Maung, including the 20ha of mangrove forest which was highlighted by Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) and Penang Consumers Association’s (CAP) yesterday.
“The land highlighted by CAP belongs to the Land and Mines Department but it is under the supervision of the Fisheries Department,” he said.
Abdul Halim said another portion of the same mangrove forest, on a different side, was also used as an illegal dumpsite next to a small site designated for a shipyard.
The other sites used included one in Kampung Naran and private land behind the Batu Maung police station.
He said some of the land had been used as dumpsites for many years but the aim now was to pinpoint which authority could take action to stop the illegal dumping activities.
“We held meetings to discuss this issue and there has to be a coordinated effort by the Department of Environment (DoE), Penang Island City Council (MBPP) and Land and Mines Department along with the landowners to apprehend the culprits,” he said.
Abdul Halim said the DoE can only take action if industrial waste within its scheduled list was dumped on the land.
“We are now looking at the law provisions to see how we can take enforcement action because currently, under the law, we can only take action if the culprits are caught red-handed dumping waste at the sites,” he said.
He said there were unscrupulous contractors who collected industrial or construction waste at lower rates, and then illegally dumped it on vacant land instead of disposing it at designated dumpsites such as Pulau Burong.
“They can make a profit by doing this and some companies will take up their services because they are cheaper,” he said.
Abdul Halim said there were law provisions to penalise those who dump the waste and those behind the origin of the waste.
“Even the landowners can be penalised for allowing their land to be used as a dumpsite,” he said.
He added that the only way to resolve the issue would be to organise a concerted effort between all agencies and landowners to securely hoard up the vacant land and take enforcement action against the illegal dumping of waste.
Last month, Abdul Halim had highlighted how a part of the mangrove forest was cleared for the shipyard and next to it, the vacant land was used as an illegal dumpsite.
