The dispute over whether a portion of the land in Benghajsa transferred to Gasco Energy Ltd for the development of a new gas bottling and distribution plant could be compromised by an ongoing Constitutional Court case, took a new turn this week.
The Lands Department is to file a court application to contest a land survey presented both in court and in Parliament by Opposition MP Jose Herrera, who contends a substantial part of the land transferred to Gasco, in fact belongs to a client and forms part of an ongoing case being heard before the Constitutional Court.
The Lands Department, however, has studied the issue and has concluded the claim to be unfounded.
On 21 October Parliament approved a transfer of land in Benghajsa to Gasco that saw all Opposition MPs voting against the resolution, mainly over fears that gas cylinder prices would soar once the arm of Enemalta was privatised. The government, meanwhile, has pledged to keep its hefty subsidy on the commodity in place for three years.
During the Parliamentary debate Labour MP Jose Herrera put forward a special objection to the land transfer resolution by presenting a map in Parliament showing that his client, Paul Cachia, owned part of the land in question and that the land was still subject to a Constitutional Court ruling.
Lands and Revenue Parliamentary Secretary Jason Azzopardi and Finance Minister Tonio Fenech had both stressed during the debate that that there was absolutely no overlap between the two properties, and that Mr Cachia’s land in no way formed part of the land being transferred to Gasco.
Sticking firm to his position last week, Dr Herrera informed this newspaper that he was to file a judicial protest against the government following Parliament’s approval of the land transfer.
When contacted on Friday, Land Commissioner Albert Mamo informed The Malta Independent on Sunday that the Land Department will be filing a court application to contest the map following an in-depth study of Dr Herrera’s claim.
Although Dr Herrera had been invited to present a copy of the map in question to the Lands Department for verification, he had still failed to do so by the end of this week – almost two weeks since the map was tabled in Parliament.
Nevertheless, Mr Mamo explained, the Lands Department had obtained a copy of the map presented in Parliament and in court as part of the Constitutional Court case – Paul Cachia vs. the Attorney General, being heard by Mr Justice Lino Farrugia Sacco.
Studies on the document carried out by the Lands Department, as well as research into Mr Cachia’s land purchase contracts, Mr Mamo confirms, found the claim to be completely unsubstantiated. The Department will now bid to set the record straight once and for all before the courts.