Over-grown plots in Luyang an eyesore
Published on: Wednesday, January 12, 2022
By: Sidney Skinner
.jpg "Over-grown plots in Luyang an eyesore")
Snakes, rats, monitor lizards and mosquitoes might be breeding in the ‘lalang’ on one of the two plots on Lorong Terberau.
Two Luyang landowners could find themselves RM1,000 poorer if they fail to heed City Hall’s calls to tend to their properties at different sections of Lorong Terberau.A spokesman for the agency’s Landscaping Department (LD) said this was the maximum fine which could be imposed in court, under section 49C (5) of the Local Government Ordinance (Amendment 2000).
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“Alternatively, they might have to spend up to six months behind bars for allowing their unkempt land to become a nuisance to the other rate-payers living along the housing road,” he said.
“In the worst case scenario, they could be slapped with both a fine and jail-term.”
He said the pair was reminded of these penalties at the end of last year.
“Notices to this affect were stuck to the front gate of their respective properties on December 30.
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“Three days earlier, LD personnel checked on both plots and found them to be in different states of neglect.”
He said long grass and overgrown trees, as well as assorted weeds and creepers, had sprung on both pieces of land.
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A run-down house was also noted inside one of the compounds, according to him.
Landscaping personnel checking on the compound with the run-down house on Lorong Terberau at the end of December.
“The owners were informed about the potential nuisance and negative impact which their unkempt property were likely to have on the public in this area.
“They were made aware that pests, including dangerous reptiles and disease-bearing insects, might be breeding on their land.”
Owing to this, both were instructed to have their land maintained as soon as possible and had been given a grace-period to comply.
“This is the second time that they have been asked to mitigate the nuisance created by their properties.
“Copies of the initial notice were attached to the reminders issued at the end of December.
“If the landowners fail to fulfil our requirements this time, their cases will be forwarded to the Legal Department so that this matter can be taken to court.”
The spokesman was responding to the repeated complaints which City Hall has been receiving about the mini jungle which had formed on both plots in Taman Friendly Phase 4.
Some of those living in the neighbourhood are displeased about the weeds and tall ‘lalang’, which are thriving on these pieces of land.
They feared that these overgrown compounds had become a habitat to rodents like snakes and rats.
These residents were also concerned that Aedes mosquitoes might be spawning in the rainwater which pooled among the long grass.
Others were uneasy about the possibility of unscrupulous individuals using the unkempt land to covertly monitor the movement of those staying there.
They feared that such bad hats might later burglarise their residences.
City Hall staff putting up the second notice on the unopened gate for the vacant land with the damaged concrete fence.
Despite relating these misgivings to City Hall, they said the agency had failed to effectively put an end to their worries.
The spokesman refuted the suggestion about City Hall’s inaction, saying that both plots along Lorong Terberau were inspected on May 19 and found to be a public nuisance.
He said, at the time, LD personnel remarked that the poor condition of the land, in both cases, might very well compromise the health of those staying nearby.
“During this check, they noted the presence of a ‘blue Ninja’, which seemed to have been abandoned, near one of these properties,” he said.
“The relevant section was informed about this vehicle.
He said both landowners were notified about these irregularities on May 27.
When asked if any follow-up inspection was carried out after these notices were served, the spokesman declined to comment.
A spokeswoman for City Hall’s Health and Environment Department (HED) said staff with its Vector Control Division fogged Taman Friendly Phase 4, between 5.30pm and 6pm, on May 27.
“HED inspectors had earlier inspected the neighbourhood, during which time they noted the two unkempt pieces of land and blocked road-side drains on Lorong Terberau,” she said.
City Hall had Taman Friendly Phase 4 fogged in May.
“They also spoke to several rate-payers who expressed their concerns about a dengue-outbreak taking place here.”
SINDI of Luyang described the two overgrown plots as being an eye sore.
“They give Taman Friendly a bad impression, especially among those visiting the neighbourhood for the first time,” she said.
She decried the respective landowners as being irresponsible for failing to maintain their land.
“The properties have fallen into such a state of neglect that even the concrete pillars at the main entrance to one of the plots has become damaged.
“The gate to this piece of land is unlocked. A run-down vehicle has been left on the verge in front of the other one.”
Sindi said she personally made City Hall aware of these observations at the end of April and, again, in May.
She said, at the end of the latter, a wooden placard with a notice was placed outside one of the empty plots but not the other, eventhough both were equally unkempt.
“Nothing has been done since and the condition of both empty lots has deteriorated further in the months since.
“I cannot understand how City Hall could have turned a blind eye to this problem.”
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