Gerakan urges Penang government to restore Bukit Botak to original condition
GEORGE TOWN, March 25 (Bernama) -- The Penang Gerakan has urged the DAP-led state government to invoke Section 27(8) of Town and Country Planning Act 1976 to ensure the land at Bukit Relau, also known as Bukit Botak, is fully restored to its original condition.
The party's youth acting chief, Jason Loo said since the excessive land clearing at the hill in mid-2013 until today, the state government failed to fulfill its promise over the last three years to green the area.
He said according to a news report in November 2015, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng had said that Penang's Botak Hill would be green by 2016-end.
"If you don't come here, you do not know the exact condition. Some people who cross the bridge said that the Botak Hill is still in a very bad condition. But some said, 'no, no, no'...it is better already'.
"I am just surprised that the past few years, they did not mention about the restoration to the original condition of Botak Hill. This is not considered green," he told reporters after visiting the site here today.
Excessive land clearing at Bukit Botak in mid-2013 drew protests from various quarters who questioned the credibility of the DAP-led state government.
The Penang Structure Plan 2020 gazetted on June 28, 2007, bans development in areas over 76.2 metres (250 ft) above sea level and on slopes with a gradient of over 25 degrees.
-- BERNAMA
