He said China Communications Construction Company, the turnkey developer of ECRL, had obtained the permit to clear land but had begun construction “without approval”, Malay Mail reported.

“There was a road permit issued to CCCC Sdn Bhd for the purpose of constructing a road for the ECRL project that spans 2.3 km,” Amirudin was quoted as saying.

However, he did not reveal if the company had been penalised or directed to stop all construction work.

On Wednesday, forest monitoring watchdog, Rimba Disclosure Project (RDP) said it had found “some odd activities going on inside the Selangor State Park” based on its analysis of satellite imagery.

Four suspicious clearings had occurred within or at the borders of the park, which was gazetted in 2007 and is the second largest totally protected area in West Malaysia after Taman Negara.

Following Amirudin’s confirmation, RDP said their concerns had been validated.

The ECRL alignment involving Selangor, namely Section C, is divided into Section C1 from Mentakab to Gombak and Section C2 from Gombak to Port Klang via Serendah.

The state park is located in Gombak.