Puchong residents can breathe a sigh of relief following confirmation that a controversial incinerator project included in a previous draft of the Kuala Lumpur Structure Plan 2020 (KLSP2020) has been excluded from the final version.

The KLSP2020, which was officially submitted yesterday to Federal Territory Minister Mohd Isa Abdul Samad, makes no mention of an incinerator project in Kampung Bohol, Puchong, located south of the city centre.

Head of Kuala Lumpur City Hall public relations office Hassan Azahari said City Hall had excluded any mention of the construction of a 1,500-ton incinerator in response to complaints lodged earlier by the Puchong No-Incinerator pro-tem committee.

Committee members had expressed concern that if the project remains in the draft plan, the incinerator project may be revived.

"The KLSP objection secretariat recieves protests from the public regarding the proposals contained in drafts of the KLSP2020. We hear such protests to assess their validity, and the protests lodged by the committee contributed to its exclusion (from the final version)," said Hassan when contacted.

However, he did not respond as to how the incinerator had been mentioned at all, given a clear announcement earlier by the cabinet that the project would be relocated to Broga, Semenyih.

Presently, the burden is on residents of Broga, located 40km south of Kuala Lumpur, who are facing uncertainties as to whether the incinerator will or will not take off despite an assurance by Selangor Menteri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo that the state government had never approved of development in water catchment areas.

930 protests

Yesterday morning, Mohd Isa said more than 930 protests had been lodged with the KLSP2020 objection secretariat by various individuals, political and non-governmental organisations on the policy proposals contained in previous drafts of the KLSP2020.

He said only 35 of those complaints (three percent) were accepted by City Hall and incorporated into the present KLSP2020, amongst which included complaints by women's advocacy groups as well as youth groups.

However, he added that the public still had the opportunity to affect the implementation of the KLSP2020 as it was "not rigid" but had to be further expanded by detailed plans on each of Kuala Lumpur's six 'local' zones.

Those plans, for which consultants would be engaged, would be completed within the year, he said.