The farmers of Nadur and other staunch opponents of the new 600-grave cemetery planned for the locality were alarmed this week after they received the March edition of Hajja f’Ghawdex, the magazine of the Gozo Diocese.
The magazine carries a text and photo feature on the ultra-modern and controversial new cemetery to be located just above some of Gozo’s most fertile farmland, which, opponents insist, will become contaminated by run-off water from the graves, as had happened to the land around Nadur’s existing cemetery.
Moreover, the Malta Environmental and Planning Authority (MEPA) has granted permission for the development without an essential Environmental Impact Assessment having been carried out, and without any consultation with the area’s farming community.
Instead, the authorities, which have granted the Nadur parish the go-ahead for the development, have relied on reports drawn up by the Malta Resources Authority and the Department of Agriculture.
Opponents and farmers have petitioned the Malta Diocese Environment Commission and the Curia of Malta. More recently, the Nadur Farmers Cooperative delivered a 450-strong petition to the Bishop of Gozo on 17 February.
None of the petitions, however, have even been acknowledged by the Church authorities and plans for the cemetery, if the feature in the latest Hajja f’Ghawdex is anything to go by, appear to be going ahead although work is yet to begin on the site.
Located at the top of the valley leading down to Ramla Bay, the development is undoubtedly of questionable environmental sensitivity, over and above the visual aspect
The Nadur farmers are seriously concerned that their farmland, with citrus groves numbering some 5,000 trees with an estimated annual yield of 150 tonnes, is at risk of contamination should the Nadur parish’s plans for an ultra-modern cemetery come to fruition.
The agriculturally-rich farm and orchard land rising above Ramla Bay is fed by a natural spring, which will pass through the grounds of the planned cemetery before making its way to the farmers’ wells and reservoirs.
The health risks of run-off water from a cemetery holding 600 graves, with an estimated overall population of 1,700 corpses, are numerous, not least of which is the fact that such water will eventually end up in one of Gozo’s most popular swimming spots – Ramla l-Hamra.
Farmers also expressed incredulity at the fact that a previously proposed site in Nadur had been turned down by MEPA because of concern over potential contamination of a nearby borehole and questioned why the farmland in the direct line of the cemetery would not be similarly contaminated.
Farmers speaking to The Malta Independent on Sunday fear the land their families have tilled for literally hundreds of years may now become contaminated by run off water from the cemetery.
They remain, however, unconvinced by redrafted plans approved by MEPA, which apparently safeguard the water quality. They are also sceptical over plans to waterproof the cemetery by means of a 100 metre concrete bed, insisting that concrete inevitably cracks if not at first, then eventually.
The farmers also contend there had previously been plenty of room for expansion at the existing Nadur cemetery before the parish developed the adjacent land into stores where festa ornaments are kept, and a number of garages which it has sold.
Although 25 per cent of the 600 graves would be allocated as common graves, which yield no revenue, the remaining graves for sale, with conservative estimates of Lm1,000 per grave, will undoubtedly bring in a good deal of revenue for the parish coffers. With its majestic views, the cemetery’s plots are also expected to become subject to speculation and competitive bargaining.