Putra Heights: A three-month rental aid will be disbursed on Thursday to 396 households affected by the recent Putra Heights gas pipeline incident. Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari stated that in addition to the financial aid, affected residents will also be briefed on the rehabilitation of homes damaged by the fire.

According to BERNAMA News Agency, Amirudin announced this during a press conference after a cooperation agreement signing ceremony between KDEB Waste Management and Nestl© Malaysia for the SELKitar Programme. The Menteri Besar had previously mentioned that the 396 household heads affected by the Putra Heights fire incident are eligible to receive rental assistance for six months at a rate of RM2,000 per month.

On the repairs of the affected homes, Amirudin informed that a preliminary briefing will be held this Thursday to provide residents with a clearer picture of how the reconstruction project will be conducted. A proposal has already been submitted to the federal government regarding the repair of damaged houses, which requires significant funding.

“We are waiting for the Cabinet’s decision because we’ve already submitted the proposal on how the repairs should be carried out. Once the Cabinet agrees, we will inform everyone,” he stated. “There are many factors to consider because the incident impacted the village and housing estate areas, requiring different approaches. That’s why we mentioned it would take one to two weeks to provide a clear explanation.”

Residents expressed frustration yesterday over the lack of information on home repairs 20 days after the incident. On April 18, Amirudin had said a briefing on the reconstruction of the affected homes would be held within two weeks.

The April 1 fire wrecked 81 homes, with structural damage exceeding 40 per cent. Another 81 were partially damaged, 57 were affected but not burned, while 218 homes remained unaffected, including those in Kampung Tengah, Puchong.