Kedah Menteri Besar Azizan Abdul Razak said the felling trees on 400 hectares (1,000 acres) of land at the Tasik Pedu forest reserve in Padang Terap was to make way for an agro-tourism park.

water catchment area in kedah 260608 He stressed that the project would proceed although there was a technical glitch involving different definitions over land height above sea level between the Department of Environment (DOE) and Forestry Department.

"According to the DOE, if the height is 250 metres above sea level, there is no need for an environment impact assessment (EIA) report, while the Forestry Department said an EIA report would be required for a height of above 750 metres.

"Which (definition) to follow? The land has been cleared and an allocation of RM20 million has been entered into the 2013 budget," Azizan told reporters when met outside the Alor Setar High Court today.

He came to court over the suit filed by the heirs of the original owner of the Madrasah Salihiah site in Kancut against the state government, State Islamic Religious Department and the Kota Setar district land administrator.

- Bernama

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