KUALA LUMPUR (Sept 9, 2011): While land acquisition at Jalan Sultan near Petaling Street is inevitable for the underground section of the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) line, the affected landowners can work with the government to find solutions to continue trading in the area, Land Public Transport Commission (SPAD) chairman Tan Sri Syed Hamid Albar said yesterday.
However how this will be done and the plans at hand are still hazy and needs to be ironed out.
“We need to acquire the land and will do it according to the processes stipulated under the law,” he said during his Hari Raya open house.
“If they (affected parties) are interested to participate in the development, then they can bid for it,” he added.
While land acquisition was necessary, plans on how the underground tunnel will be built without compromising the heritage buildings remains unclear.
Syed Hamid did not deny that plans to redevelop Jalan Sultan, would possibly require demolition of these buildings.
However, he said structures with a heritage value will not be demolished, and instead be strengthened.
“We have quite a number of technical and legal issues to sort out,” he said.
When asked if stratum titles will be issued for landowners, Syed Hamid said: “We may do that but you must remember, we have to acquire the land from top to bottom.”
“We are looking at the possibility of asking them to leave and return, or to offer them stratum titles, but there is a process involved. We cannot just simply (do things),” he added.
When asked if redevelopment plans were conducted to enrich certain parties, since there were also plans to turn the are into a shopping hub Syed Hamid said: “There is no such thing as wanting to grab land to enrich certain parties.”
“I think urban rail development is also a catalyst for other developments, enhancement of property value in the area, increased job opportunities, and improved standard of living and quality of life,” he added.
He said that landowners are entitled to pursue legal recourse if they are not happy with the land acquisition.
“I don’t think we should be unnecessarily worried about the rights of people to take legal action, or go through the due process,” he added.
He said it was more important to negotiate and interact on how best to build the MRT line while taking into account the interests of all parties.
About 20 buildings along Jalan Sultan, some of which have heritage value, will be affected by the project.
At a public hearing between Syarikat Prasarana Negara Berhad last month, landowners had objected the land acquisition. The affected parties had reportedly said they are considering legal action to stop the land acquisition process.
No comments:
Post a Comment