The Selangor government may cancel approval for the controversial Dolomite Park Avenue condominium in Batu Caves for ignoring the objections of the state Department of Environment (DOE), says state executive councillor Ronnie Liu.

NONEThe reserve land area between the 29-storey condominium project and the iconic Batu Caves is too narrow, and this could lead to fatal rockfalls and land instability, Liu told Malaysiakini yesterday.

"The project is very near to the caves and there have been insufficient safety measures to prevent rockfalls. Now, we can knock out the project," he said.

"We have the right to correct the past."

Liu said the previous BN state government should not have approved the project in the first place.

He said this when asked about a report in English daily theSun on Monday that the Selangor DOE in a Jan 24, 2007 letter to the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS) pointed out MPS had approved the project in 2007 over the DOE's objections.

The letter, a copy of which was also provided to Malaysiakini, clearly states that the DOE does not support the project.

The development proposal report submitted does not provide for sufficient land reserve between the proposed condominium project and the hill, which is required under the state government policy.


"Therefore, this department does not support this development as it has the potential to create landslides and other problems," the DOE letter states.

Reservations from Geoscience Dept as well

Another letter from the Minerals and Geoscience Department in Selangor, a copy of which was also made available to Malaysiakini, expresses its reservations to the project and lists five construction conditions to be fulfilled by the developer.

The plan for the massive condominium project near the historic Sri Subramaniar Temple grabbed the spotlight after the temple committee, backed by MIC top guns including former president S Samy Vellu, led a protest against the Selangor government.

The issue arose after the MIC-backed temple committee led a protest against the project in late October.


Batu caves condo near temple ronnie liu with map 2However, Liu subsequently revealed documents to show that the BN government had in 2007 approved the condominium project - considered by many to be an eyesore - when it controlled Selangor.

Liu was reported as saying that Senator A Kohilan Pillay of Gerakan and Hulu Selangor parliamentarian P Kamalanathan of MIC were among those responsible for approving the project.

However, both Kohilan and Kamalanathan have denied the accusation and lodged police reports on the matter

Selangor Menteri Besar Abdul Khalid Ibrahim has announced that an independent task force will study the matter.

The members of the task force are expected to be announced today, after the state executive council meeting.- malaysiakini