EIA for Penang Hill cable car project needed public feedback before approval: group

THE Environment Department (DoE) has been taken to task for approving the environmental impact assessment (EIA) report for the RM245 million Penang Hill cable car project without public display and public feedback.

Environmental protection group Sahabat Alam Malaysia (SAM) expressed concern over the matter, saying that it is wrong for the DoE’s director-general to pass the report in such a manner even though it requires public exhibition and response under the law.

Its president Meenakshi Raman pointed to the Environmental Quality (Prescribed Activities) (Environmental Impact Assessment) Order 2015, which stipulates that all activities relating to “transportation” are listed as a 2nd Schedule activity, which under the order, require public display and comment.

In the 2nd Schedule of the EIA Order, “transportation” is listed as a prescribed activity and includes the “construction of new routes or branch line for a mass rapid transport project”, she said in a statement today.

“Our view is that the cable car project is indeed a ‘mass rapid transport project’, as it involves the transportation of 1,000 passengers per hour to the top of the hill as announced by Datuk Cheok Lay Leng recently, who is the general manager of Penang Hill Corporation (PHC),” she said.

Cheok was recently reported to have assured that the 130-million-year-old forest in Penang Hill will remain almost intact, with only about 50 trees affected by the project.

He said these 50 trees will be relocated and not felled.

Meenakshi stressed that although the cable car line may only be 2.7km, the entire system is being constructed on very environmentally sensitive areas.

These involve both Penang Hill, which is a biosphere reserve, and the Penang Botanical Gardens.

Moreover, the cable car project also involves slopes which are steep and beyond 35-degree gradient in parts, she added, explaining that this requires the EIA to be under the 2nd Schedule of the EIA Order, thus requiring public display and comments.

“Hence, both from legal, environmental and social impact standpoints, it would have been proper and prudent for the EIA to be made public for comments and feedback,” Meenakshi said.

“We are told that only 50 trees will be moved for the RM245 million cable car project and the project is environmentally friendly.

“That may be the view of the authorities, but it is for the public to make an independent assessment of these assurances.”

“Our point is that the law must be obeyed, and public display and comment is mandatory, prior to any approval under the law on EIAs, for such a mass rapid transport which is on very steep slopes in an environmentally sensitive area.”

Even in obtaining planning approvals under the Town and Country Planning Act 1976, a social impact assessment (SIA) has to be done, including traffic impact assessments (TIA), she said.

“None of these have been made public,” she stressed, noting that Penang Hill and the Botanic Gardens are areas of much public interest.

Legalities aside, it is good governance and practice to publicly display the EIA, SIA and TIA for public feedback and comments.

“Granting approvals without transparency undermines public confidence,” she said.

“We call on the DoE and the Penang state government to make public these documents and not commence further works until the public is given a chance to provide their feedback on the cable car project.”

In December last year, the Consumers’ Association of Penang (CAP) had warned that the cable car system would bring in heightened human traffic to the hill which has limited carrying capacity.

It said that the thousands of people going to Penang Hill have in fact already exceeded the carrying capacity as well as the inadequate sewage and waste disposal facilities.

“The provision of a cable car will lead to the construction of hotels, restaurants, theme parks, homes, and roads to cater for the increased number of tourists and residents.

“Its impact will also cause soil erosion, degraded land slopes and increased landslides,” CAP said. “The authorities have obviously not learnt any lesson from the floods that have caused massive landslides, uprooted many trees, and cut off communication on the hill.” – The Vibes, March 17, 2023