The Semenyih/Broga No Incinerator pro-tem action sub-committee is challenging Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo to keep his word and stop the construction of a 1,500-tonne incinerator plant in Broga.

In a three-page statement signed by nine residents, the group cited a news report in April quoting Mohd Khir as saying that Selangor has never approved any development in a water catchment area.

However, the state has already provided land to build the RM1.5 billion incinerator, a federal government project.

Late last May, the Department of Environment (DOE) gave conditional approval to the environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the project, prompting an angry outburst among those who have been campaigning hard for more than two years to stop the project.

The sub-committee, comprising residents of Broga New Village and surrounding villages, has been arguing that siting the incinerator plant in a water catchment area in Semenyih would violate state laws.

"Based on the factors above, we want the MB to keep his promise and stop the project especially since land falls under state jurisdiction," said committee member Alice Lee when contacted.

"The DOE's grounds for rejecting a sanitary landfill proposal recently is exactly why we are also opposed to the incinerator plant, not to mention the major risk posed to our health."

The sub-committee also cited the Selangor Structure Plan (2002-2020) assessment report which prohibits any development, including waste treatment plants and landfills from being located within or nearby the water catchment area.

Although the report was prepared by the state's Town and Country Planning Department, the MB and state officials have by and large ignored the classification of the area as an 'environmentally-sensitive zone' as gazetted by the state government.

Mohd Khir could not be reached for comment.

Status unknown

Last Saturday, a group of 50 residents met with DOE director-general Rosnani Ibarahim for a dialogue over the incinerator project and to thank the department for its "dedication and trustworthiness" in rejecting the EIA for a sanitary landfill project proposed nearby.

Contacted yesterday, sub-committee chairperson Dr Zulkefly Mohamad Omar said the DOE should review the incinerator project "on the same grounds that DOE has rejected the EIA for the landfill".

"After all, the Broga area is a sensitive water catchment area and any proposed incinerator there may affect water quality to 1.5 million people in Selangor and Negri Sembilan. The area is also found to be too hilly and thus, could pose such hazards as landslides in future," he said.

The residents have also requested a copy of the DOE's letter rejecting the EIA findings for the proposed sanitary landfill.

Zulkefly said he was not sure what was happening with the project.

"The problem is that right now, we don't even know the status of the incinerator project. We're planning to meet Local Government Director-General Mohamad Saib before Hari Raya for an update," he said.

He also took local authorities to task for passing the buck when it comes to waste disposal and management.

"We want to ask the Kajang District Council how they can allow such a project within their area when each municipality should be responsible for its own garbage disposal."

He expressed disappointment that despite the public statements made by officials about prohibiting development in water catchment areas, there has been no real action on this.

"The incinerator project is on and we're still waiting for a response from Mohd Khir and Housing and Local Government Minister Ong Ka Ting," he said.

Ong could not be reached for comments.

The minister has firmly refused to meet with Broga residents or visit the area despite numerous attempts in writing and through telephone calls since November 2002. The ministry is the project proponent.

Residents in and around Broga have been opposed to the incinerator since it was relocated from Puchong in late 2002 following concerted public protests in that locality.