Modifications are illegal: DBKK
Published on: Saturday, February 20, 2021
By: Sidney Skinner
A Kepayan home owner will be asked to remove the zinc extensions he/she made to their house.
A KEPAYAN rate-payer will be instructed to remove the “illegal” modifications made to his/ her home as these extensions have encroached into the backyard drain reserve.A spokeswoman for City Hall’s Building Control Department (BCD) said a check revealed that part of the house was occupying government land.
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On top of this, no written permission had been given for the changes made to the building, according to her.
“This is a contravention of our Building Bylaws and action can be taken under this ordinance,” she said.
“The rate-payer will be asked to dismantle the modifications and extensions which have been made to the back and side of his/ her house.”
She said the agency had enlisted the assistance of the Lands and Survey Department to identify the owner of the land on which the house stood.
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“A notice will be served to this individual and he/ she will be given a grace period in which to comply with our instructions.
“If the rate-payer fails to do so, legal action will be taken against him/ her.”
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The spokeswoman did not rule out the possibility of City Hall moving in to demolish the illegal modifications which had been made.
She was responding to a rate-payer’s complaint about the lack of maintenance carried out on the drains outside his backyard fence. The individual bemoaned the nuisance posed by the foul smell coming from these structures.
A spokesman for City Hall’s Landscaping Department (LD) said its staff went to the neighbourhood in question in the first week of January.
“They suspected that the water in the drains was stagnating because of the green scum, and bubbles, which had formed on the surface,” he said.
He said these personnel found that a gate had been built across a section of the government land behind the complainant’s house.
“Our staff also observed that the back of another house in the same housing area had been extended into the reserve land.
“Zinc sheets had been put up on either side of the drains.
“To make matters worse, the space between the zinc ‘walls’ had been transformed into a garbage dump, with unwanted chairs, used tyres and bits of wire mesh thrown here.”
City Hall also intends to this gate which has been illegally put up on the drain reserve in another part of the same neighbourhood.
The spokesman said the LD’s workers went to clear the backyard drains in the neighbourhood a few days later
“Their attempts were held up due of the difficulty in accessing those sections of which were closer to the main outlet.”
He said the BCD was apprised of these findings so that action could be taken to deal with illegal structures occupying the government land there.
The spokesman said the backyard drains were cleared once every three months by City Hall staff.
“Those in the front and side of homes within our rating area are maintained by the government concessionaire.”
The spokeswoman said the BCD would check on the presence of the gate on the reserve land behind the complainant’s home.
MOCK, who lives in Taman Ridgeview, said the drains were clogged with sediment and weeds.
“The stench from the stagnant water in the drains is intolerable,” he said.
“I have to keep the doors and windows in this part of my house closed to prevent the stench from getting in.
“I also fear that the foul water in the drains has become a breeding ground for mosquitoes as I have noticed more and more these insects buzzing about my home.”
He said the drains overflowed flooding his backyard during a downpour, giving him the added headache of cleaning up the mud left behind on his compound after the water dries up.
“I have noticed that the water inside the drains does not recede even when the weather gets hot.”
Mock was at a loss to understand how the local authorities could have turned a blind eye to this situation.
He provided Hotline with the location of the drains in question. This information was forwarded to City Hall.
A spokesman for City Hall’s Enforcement Department said its staff would try to identify the rate-payer who had transformed the reserve land into an illegal dump.
“The homeowner will be asked to remove his/ her waste and warned not to indiscriminately dispose of his/ her refuse in this common area again,” he said.
“The individual will be given a grace-period in which to clean-up this property.”
He said the rate-payer risked being penalised, if he/ she failed to comply with the agency’s instructions.
Under City Hall’s Anti-Litter Bylaws, those caught haphazardly disposing of their waste can be compounded between RM100-500.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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