SHAH ALAM: The Selangor government is conducting a comprehensive inventory of unowned infrastructure throughout the state to address persistent maintenance problems and frequent flooding in specific locations.
State Infrastructure and Agriculture Committee chairman Datuk Izham Hashim explained that the mapping process includes roads, slopes, retention ponds, and bridges which currently lack any official department or agency responsible for their upkeep.
He noted that this initiative builds upon the state’s earlier achievement of cataloguing over 500 kilometres of unowned drains through extensive cleaning operations funded by a one-off five million ringgit allocation this year.
“Some developments involve more than three agencies, making the unowned infrastructure no longer a small issue,” he stated during a press conference after officiating a workshop reviewing the Integrated Management Plan for the Langat, Selangor, and Klang River Basins 2022-2030.
Izham highlighted that inadequate maintenance of these structures significantly contributes to flash floods occurring in various parts of the state.
The State Economic Planning Unit has received instructions to begin inventory work on these four infrastructure categories with a target completion within six months.
He revealed that some infrastructure was constructed on private land through verbal agreements with landowners without formal acquisition processes.
This informal approach has led to disputes whenever land ownership changes and creates barriers for maintenance crews needing access to the infrastructure.
To resolve these issues permanently, the state government has implemented a new policy assigning clear responsibility to specific agencies for each type of infrastructure.
Drains discharging into rivers will fall under the jurisdiction of the Department of Irrigation and Drainage while those connected to urban drainage systems will be managed by local authorities.
Izham emphasized that this systematic approach aims to prevent infrastructure from being abandoned without maintenance, thereby reducing potential safety risks to residents.
The initiative receives additional support from the Environment-Friendly Drainage Master Plan (PISMA) of the Department of Irrigation and Drainage, which provides long-term solutions for flash flood mitigation based on studies of existing drainage capacity and effectiveness. – Bernama