Authorities responsible for planning and environment hiding behind policies – Alex Torpiano

The authorities that are tasked with taking care of the environment and planning in our names suffer from a lack of transparency and hide behind policies when making decisions, Alex Torpiano representing the NGO, Din L-Art Helwa said.

He was speaking during a press conference outside Parliament in Valetta, on Saturday morning, in wake of the environmental protest, Enough is Enough, to be held next Saturday.

A group of 60 NGO’s presented six demands to safeguard the environment.

Policies

The NGOs said that most planning policies are designed around the interests of the few, instead of the public wellbeing and environmental protection. They are demanding a radical change in these planning policies.

They also asked for several policies allowing construction of villas, fuel stations and hotels in ODZ to be revoked. The high-rise policy should also be revoked. 

Robert Louis Fenech, representing Flimkien Ghal-Ambjent Ahjar, said that the policies are “deficient” and said that to determine if the Gozo tunnel should be done “serious and alternative studies” need to take place.

“For business, any decision is taken,” Fenech noted. He also mentioned that fuel station policy has taken two years to be finalised and the excuse given is that there are processes to be followed.

Fench noted that the Planning Authority is hiding from the public, whereby a pile of rocks can suddenly become a villa, restaurants taking over pavements without permit and ODZ areas more like “a building menu.”

Authorities responsible for environment and planning

The authorities entrusted with safeguarding the environment and planning are run with a blatant lack of transparency, responsibility and independence, the groups noted. They are demanding a change in the composition of the boards, the election of their members and the way they are run. 

Torpiano noted that the priority for the authorities should be first and foremost to lookout for the interest of the community. “For this reason, we are asking for a radical change how planning is done for the benefit of our community,” he said.

It is not permissible that the community now discovers that the planning policies now permit that their life can be turned upside down for the benefit of an individual, Torpiano said.

A radical change is required for all planning processes as it is not right that the destiny of projects depends on two people in a decision that is made in 15 minutes, he added.

Large-scale projects

Communities around Malta and Gozo are under attack from proposals for massive developments that have no respect for either residents or the environments, the groups said in their demands. They said that a moratorium is demanded on these large-scale projects until a comprehensive and serious plan for development in Malta is introduced.

Speaking at the press conference, Norman Zammit from the Pembroke Residents Opposing dB Project group said that Pembroke residents knew that they would be faced with difficulties during the construction phase of the project and even after due to traffic flow.

Whilst they received a lot of support some residents from other localities, they felt they should not join in the fight against the project because it was not their locality but now other projects have sprouted in other localities too, Zammit noted. He gave the example of the AUM extension project and the trade fair grounds proposals.

He said that the objections were not futile as, despite even the board of appeal dropping the objections, the court thought otherwise. The developer has now put forward another permit for excavation and this time 6000 objections were presented. 

The regulation of the construction industry 

In a few months, we have seen buildings crumble and numerous workers dying in construction sites, the groups said, adding that the response to all this has been completely inadequate. They are demanding a system whereby developers and authorities are truly responsible for the work that is being carried out in construction sites to ensure that this does not endanger or disturb people’s lives.

19 years ago, Paul Vella’s mother’s house in Sliema collapsed due to excavation being carried out next door. Speaking at the press conference, Vella said that his brother was hospitalised and his mother died due to the incident.

During the days when his brother was in the hospital, the minister of the time visited them and said the government will help through a fund. Years went by and Vella noted he has not received the money. He insisted this is not a partisan issue, saying it was a different government at the time.

Vella also said he was present in Guardiamangia just a few hours before the building collapsed. Not being an expert in the construction field, Vella said that he noted that there was an issue with the building, so much so that it collapsed a few hours after.

He said that registration of contractors is not enough and it must be ensured that they do the job properly.

Roads and transportation 

“Our country is besieged by a frenzy of tree-cutting and the destruction of agricultural land sacrificed to road widening and construction,” the groups said. They noted that although they have been told that this should reduce traffic and travelling distances, other worldwide studies have shown this is not so.

The demand is that the government should reconsider the decision of building and widen roads that will destroy a huge amount of trees and arable land. They also demanded serious investment in alternative means of transport. 

Christian Scerri, representing the Attard Residents Environmental Network, said that they are not looking into the Central Link project just because the road will pass in front of their houses, as some noted, but how 1200 residents will be locked between two principal roads.

He also said that 5000 residents will be affected by the number of cars that will pass. Scerri said that the roads will not reduce the number of cars passing through Attard, as even the new road will pass through Attard.

“The number of cars that will pass through Attard will increase as it will make it easier to pass from these roads,” Scerri noted.

Respect for our planet, our country and ourselves 

The groups are demanding that the government puts citizens’ health at the heart of all decision-making by safeguarding remaining open spaces in urban areas, strengthening the protection of natural habitats to prevent further loss of biodiversity, and committing to reaching and surpassing emission reduction targets.

Nastia Finkel from Friends of the Earth said the biggest obstacle is that the governments have no longterm holistic plan. “Natural resources are considered only in so far as they can turn a profit,” she noted.

We are seeing the destruction of the environment which is affecting the air we breathe, the bio-diversity and the number of green spaces we can enjoy, Finkel said.

Public land needs to be protected and is not there to be privatised, she noted, adding that pouring asphalt is damaging natural habitats of the flora and fauna, some of which is becoming extinct. Asphalt is also affecting the water table as rainwater is not being allowed to seep through.

“The government is stealing from the community when building on virgin land,” Finkel said, adding that we need green spaces that help with anxiety and stress that is affecting us every day.