Mohd Nur said since the alignment would be the longest in Johor (about 150km to 160km), there will be more land acquisition proceedings in the southern state. In addition to the 50m tract of land, there will also be the three transit stations to be built in Muar, Batu Pahat and Iskandar Puteri. He explained that the land acquisition exercise will be done in two stages.
In stage one, there will be a freezing action under Section 4 affecting a corridor of 500m wide. The freeze on land transactions will allow the project team to undertake technical studies, including assessing soil conditions, expected social impact and other technical parameters before a smaller corridor is identified.
The outcome of the studies will be presented through consultations and engagements with the relevant state authorities.
To reach agreement on the “best location” of the station, consideration must also be given on how best to capture the HSR ridership by creating an integrated public transportation network with the existing infrastructure in the vicinity. When stage one is completed, the corporation will undertake stage two, which is the actual acquisition of a narrower corridor of about 50m.
This means that much of the land originally frozen will “be released”.
This 50m-wide corridor will be used for building the two tracks and reserving space in-between the tracks as well as the railway reserve. Bigger plots will be required to build the stations, depots and maintenance facilities.
“We must find the best locations of these stations along the corridor to ensure this iconic project will truly benefit the country and the people,” Mohd Nur added.
The publication of Form A in the gazette under Section 4 is normally followed by the publication of a declaration in Form D under Section 8 of Act 486. After Form A has been published in the gazette, the relevant authority will enter the land “to do such work as may be specified in such Form” (Section 5), after which the land administrator will prepare a plan of the land intended to be acquired and a list of such lands in Form C (Section 7).
It is only after the state authority has decided “any of the lands” referred to in Section 7 is required, that a declaration in Form D under Section 8 is published in the gazette.
Past experience shows several occasions when a Section 4 notification is not followed by a Section 8 declaration. When that happens, it means that the state authority has decided not to proceed with the compulsory acquisition. Some landowners may experience this in the months ahead.
As indicated by the HSR corporation chief executive officer, it is only after stage one (the freezing stage) has been done and the ensuing study completed that the actual size of land to be acquired can be determined (stage two). Only then will the affected landowner know for certain if his land is indeed required for the HSR project.
At this early juncture in the development of the HSR project, it will be premature for any landowner to dream of getting a sudden fortune as a result of his property (or part of it) being acquired for the project.
