ISKANDAR PUTERI: The Johor government has allocated RM113 million for river and drainage maintenance to reduce the risk of floods in the state.
Menteri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, who tabled the state's 2023 Budget at the State Legislative Assembly today, said the money would be given to the Drainage and Irrigation Department (DID) and local authorities to mitigate the recurrent floods in the state that threaten lives and properties.
"RM71 million will be given to the DID and local authorities for flood and drainage management, including deepening rivers, building pump houses, cleaning reservoirs and setting up flood early warning systems," he said when tabling Johor's 2023 Budget at Bangunan Sultan Ismail in Kota Iskandar, here, today.
He said RM42 million will go to the DID for ditch and drainage maintenance.
He said RM700,000 will be used to buy mobile pumps to facilitate the diverting of floodwater, especially in low-lying areas that get frequent floods.
He said 432 flood hotspots have been identified in Johor.
He said the state budget would prioritise the River Conservation Programme.
"The (Johor) government is always concerned about preserving and conserving rivers to ensure they are clean.
"RM1.8 million has been allocated for the conservation of Sungai Skudai and Sungai Tebrau, the Denai Sungai project and implementation of the 1 River 1 District programme."
He said RM300,000 would go to the conservation of Sungai Kim-Kim, which has been affected by a number of pollution incidents since 2019.
The illegal dumping of chemical waste in the river in Pasir Gudang in March 2019 led to the spread of toxic gases. Some 6,000 people were affected. A total of 2,775 students were hospitalised and 110 schools near the river had to be closed.
The state's 2023 Budget will be tabled for the second reading on Dec 11.