RAWANG: The factory at the centre of the Sg Gong pollution has been operating since 2014 without any licence or permission from the Selayang Municipal Council (MPS).
Based on MPS data, the factory management had not made any application for licence since 2014.
MPS Corporate Department Director, Mohd Zin Masoad, said the local authority had also advised the factory twice to apply for a licence after it was found operating in the past six years, without any proper documentation.
"Apart from operating without permission, the factory which is believed to be involved in carrying out various other business activities had also constructed building structures within their premises without any written permission from MPS.
"The owner or factory management did not send any application to conduct business," he said after posting a notice in front of the factory here, this morning.
The notice was posted under Section 70 (1), Roads, Drains and Buildings Act 1974, which deals with constructing buildings or structures without permission from the MPS.
Zin said the factory owner had been given three days to respond to the notice on whether they had any permission to operate.
"At the end of the notice period, MPS will demolish the building structures," he said.
He said last March, MPS had issued a notice to the factory management after it was found operating and running a business as well as constructing structures without any permission. However the factory management ignored the notice issued.
He added that the pollution offence linked to the factory came under the purview of the Department of Environment.
On Thursday, Air Selangor stopped the operations at its Sungai Selangor Water Treatment Plant Phases 1, 2, and 3 and the Rantau Panjang Water Treatment Plant due to industrial effluent pollution in Sg Gong, Rawang.
The pollution was detected flowing from the factory into Sg Gong, a tributary of Sg Selangor.
The restoration of water supply to over 1.2 million water account holders in 1,292 areas in the Klang Valley has since proceeded smoothly and is now at 73.37 per cent complete as of 6.30am today. Full restoration is expected by Wednesday.