The timer is on, ticking away slowly towards an impending catastrophe on the scale of the 1993 Highland Towers tragedy, or far worse, as Bukit Gasing continues to be 'gang-raped'.

The 'gang' is made up of selfish buyers enticed by greedy developers and their costly consultants, and approving authorities who stubbornly remain unaccountable by past tragedies.

A recent visual survey by malaysiakini of up-market housing areas nestled on the slopes of the green belt straddling Petaling Jaya and Kuala Lumpur displays evidence of the 'crime' - soil erosion, mini-landslides and earth-dumping.

Topsoil erosion, for example, was evident at the site of three abandoned bungalows perched next to each other partly-covered by plant overgrowth on a slope along the road that leads to the famous Sivan Temple at the peak.

During a recent trip up, Gasing Indah residents action committee head R Satkunarajah, an engineer by training, estimated the skeletal structures to be sitting on a 70-80 degree slope.

"Now that construction have been abandoned, look at the state of the project. No corrective measures have been taken except to lay plastic sheets (blue tarpaulin) on the slope.

"As you can see, topsoil has been exposed and a lot of it is being washed away, not unlike the scene at the Hulu Klang (Kampung Pasir) landslide," he said.

"The shocking part is, the authority (PJ Municipal Council) has done nothing about it. What about the risk to house owners living further down the road should something happen?"

The Cabinet Guidelines for highland development of 2002 bans any development on slopes with a gradient above 35 degrees while those between 26 and 35 degrees are subject to detailed studies and stringent evaluation.

Divine message

Just below the Sivan Temple is a smaller one, the Sri Maha Kaliamman Temple, where two minor landslides occurred last month following a heavy downpour.

"The temple has stood here for 26 years and this has never happened before."

Pointing to the partially buried portion of the structure, temple caretaker P Puharasan blamed the incident on the current rainy season.

"We filled bags with earth from the landslide (for earth bunds) to keep the dead vegetation and debris out. It is holding well so far," he said when met there late one evening.

"Bearing in mind the risk, I have blocked off the affected area so the devotees only have limited access to offer their prayers by the respective shrines."

Taking the landslide as a blessing in disguise, Puharasan believes that Kaliamman, the Hindu goddess of death and destruction, had actually saved the temple from further problems.

"In a way, we're lucky this happened when it did without any great loss because we were close to buying the land for RM400,000.

"Following the landslide, we approached Bukit Gasing ADUN (state assemblyperson) Dr Lim Thuan Seng for an alternative site, which he has promised to get for us but we don't know how long that will take."

He added that MPPJ officials had also visited and photographed the temple area a few times without offering any explanation to the resident priest.

Above the slope behind the official residence of the Petaling District Officer, another bungalow unit is being constructed and massive earthworks are going on.

Owners warned

Met on-site during a recent visit, Section 5 Residents Association president Edward Lee said the situation has steadily worsened following heavy rain.

"In fact, further slips have occurred at the site after heavy rain over the last few days.

"The owners should take heed of what we've been saying all along against developing dwellings on hill slopes," he said.

Planning law consultant Derek Fernandez, who advises Petaling Jaya residents who live in the vicinity of Bukit Gasing, said the green lung is a typical example of how dangerous hill slopes were especially those over 26-degree gradient.

"In these cases, even without development, there are small failures due to the clearing of trees and a number of bungalows have been demolished previously," he said when contacted.

"The problem is, the moment there is development, it changes completely the environment on the slope because more soil is exposed to rain causing increased water run-offs, not to mention changes in the contours."

He said Bukit Gasing is comprised of shale which is very prone to slippages.

"These areas, like Hulu Klang, should have total prohibition on any development including a gradient of over 26 degrees. It should only be used for recreational purposes."

Fernandez cited Japan as an example where such developments were prohibited due to far-reaching consequences and disturbances to the water table.

The Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL), he said, should immediately gazette the entire portion of Bukit Gasing on their side to complement the PJ half which Selangor had already gazetted.

He said the water in the 48% that DBKL has earmarked for development puts the squatter villages and low-cost housing areas down the valley at great risk.