Overdevelopment of Taman Desa draws ire of residents

KUALA LUMPUR: Overdevelopment of residential premises around Taman Desa continues to plague its residents.
Upset residents questioned the lack of information from Kuala Lumpur City Hall on all upcoming development projects in the area.
While awaiting a judicial review application for an order to quash the planning permission granted for a new condominium 'The Address' in the area, the residents are openly protesting against the planned unsustainable development.
Eleven affected residents had filed the judicial review on March 13 upon learning that City Hall had granted planning permission on Dec 13, 2016 for the proposed new condominium.
This was despite the objections made by residents to City Hall, who had also failed to update the residents on the status of their objections.
"The decision to grant the planning permission for the new condominium was made without taking into account certain relevant considerations, such as not carrying out a detailed study of the environmental, social and traffic impact to Taman Desa and its residents.
"The KL mayor also approved the planning permission despite the fact that the land for the new condominium has been gazetted as Tenaga Nasional Berhad's reserve land and not residential land," resident Frank Yeh, who is part of the Save Taman Desa committee, told a press conference today.
He said the land was marked for utilities and not for development.
"Furthermore, according to the latest city plan, the land for the proposed new condominium is proposed to be gazetted as a green lung," Yeh said.
He said the process leading up to the issuance of the planning permission did not follow proper procedure as required by Rule 5 of the Planning Development Rules (Amendment) 1994.
It is learnt that there are 12 other developments around the area along with the proposed new development of three-blocks of 32- to 42-storey condominiums.
Reiterating that the residents are only against non-sustainable development projects, he said the proposed developments will strain the available infrastructures.
"The population of Taman Desa will be doubled, leveraging on the infrastructures built over 40 years ago. This will also cause the disappearance of green lungs in the area.
"We want sustainable development. If you want to increase the population, then you should also increase the infrastructures.
"Every time there is a new development the water supply pressure would decrease and the traffic flow would choke up," Phang said.
The developer has since filed an application on Sept 26, to be made a party in the judicial review proceedings, to which the residents have objected.
The court has fixed Nov 29 to hear the developer's application to intervene.