Putra Heights inferno: Rental assistance to go on to next year
State Housing and Culture Committee chairman Datuk Borhan Aman Shah said the decision to continue the RM2,000 monthly rental assistance was made to ensure that victims have appropriate shelter until their homes are repaired.
"Initially, the state government agreed to provide rental support for six months, but we have decided to extend it for up to a year or more, especially for homes that were completely destroyed, as rebuilding will take time," he said.
"For houses that were partially damaged, assistance will also continue until repairs are fully completed. The aid will only be discontinued once the occupants are able to return to their homes,' he said in a statement today.
He added that the Selangor government will monitor the repair progress of each affected home to ensure that assistance is distributed efficiently under the allocated funding.
On April 30, Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari announced that the Selangor government had allocated RM2.73 million in rental assistance for 455 families affected by the incident, covering six months from April onwards.
The Petronas gas pipeline fire, which occurred in Putra Heights at 8.10 am on April 1, sent flames soaring over 30 metres high, with temperatures reaching up to 1,000 degrees Celsius. The blaze took nearly eight hours to extinguish and left a 9.8-metre-deep crater at the site. - Bernama
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