KUALA LUMPUR: Half of the permanent houses to be built for victims of last year’s floods in Kelantan cannot be completed in time for the monsoon season at year-end due to outstanding land issues.
Works Minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof told the New Straits Times that only 700 of the 1,410 houses are expected to be completed by the deadline as a result of a hurdle it faced with the state government.
As a result, up to 5,000 people displaced by the floods since last year have no choice but to spend several more months at National Security Council (NSC) shelters.
As of this month, the snag has prevented 810 houses from being built in Kelantan, the hardest hit by last year’s rainfall and floods.
The houses were meant for Kuala Krai (734) and Gua Musang (74), while in Pahang, similar issues prevented six houses from being built in Jerantut.
“These 814 houses are subject to land availability and the settlement of these issues by the state government.
“The ministry can only construct houses on land allocated by the state governments as all land matters are under their purview,” Fadillah said.
The Federal Government had pledged RM500 million for rebuilding and RM10,000 per household for repairs but the disbursement has been hampered by bureaucratic red tape.
The Kelantan government had come under fire earlier for its hesitance in giving suitable land to build houses for flood victims who did not have their own land.
Fadillah said the Federal Government had resorted to buying land from private owners and using unutilised federal land to manage the setback.
“We would like to appeal to all state governments to expedite the identification and alienation of land for the purpose of building these houses.”
He said the ministry was using an Industrialised Building System to hasten the construction of the 74.3 square metre houses from 90 days to just 50 days.
So far, 117 houses have been completed in Kelantan, Pahang, Terengganu and Perak, while 477 houses in Kelantan, Pahang and Terengganu are being built or in the pre-built stage.
The process of buying land and managing acquisition for the houses required time as it was under a separate entity — the Post-Flood Recovery Unit — under the Prime Minister’s Department.
“After the completion of land ownership arrangements, the unit will issue a letter to the Public Works Department.” The letter will authorise the ministry to perform work planning, design, preparation of the bill of quantities and construction work.
“This includes land surveying, construction of infrastructure such as roads, utilities and the construction of the houses.” He said that the houses would be built on higher ground on sites that were not affected by floods.
They would also be constructed on 2.4m concrete stilts as the material is believed to be the most flood resistant. Fadillah said there was no such thing as a flood-proof house.
The NSC had identified 1,983 houses damaged beyond repair or washed away by the floods last year. The state governments were supposed to build 573 houses while the ministry was tasked with building the rest.
– http://www.nst.com.my
