KUALA LUMPUR: To avoid floods, the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) has made approval from the Irrigation and Drainage Department (DID) a requirement for developers planning projects in the city.

       The Federal Territories Ministry said this is to ensure planned development to avoid disaster such as floods.

       A representative of the Kuala Lumpur DID has been appointed as a permanent member of the DBKL central local committee (JKPS) and has started attending meetings since Nov 24, 2020, said the ministry.

       “The DBKL has made getting the approval of Kuala Lumpur DID as a mandatory condition for every Development Order (DO) approval.

       “The DO contains terms and conditions that developers must comply with before the order can be issued to them,” said the ministry in a written parliamentary reply on Tuesday (March 22).

       Among other requirements that must be met by developers included the Traffic Impact Assessment (TIA) report under the DBKL Infrastructure Planning Department and the Environment Impact Assessment (EIA) report under the Environment Department, it said.

       The Federal Territories Ministry added through DBKL, it has been ensuring preparations were in place to face the climate change by taking immediate, short-term and long-term action to tackle the issue of floods and landslides in Kuala Lumpur.

       This was in response to a question by Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad (PH-Setiawangsa) who asked the Federal Territory Minister to state the readiness of Kuala Lumpur in facing increasingly extreme climate effects including floods and landslides over the next 20 years.

       The ministry said some of the immediate measures taken by the DBKL included CCTV monitoring around the city, via the Kuala Lumpur Command and Control Center, to identify locations affected by floods.

       “A total of 4,000 CCTV units have been installed, and by June, an additional 1,000 units will be installed,” said the ministry.

       As for short-term approaches, the DBKL will be upgrading monsoon drains, roadside drains and sewers, adding and enlarging roadside drains and building flood walls in low-lying areas along the river, said the ministry.