MEPA has been inconsistent in its treatment of applicants and abusers, Flimkien Ghal Ambjent Ahjar Coordinator Astrid Vella told The Malta Independent.

Last week a protestor outside Castille was arrested and sent to Mount Carmel Hospital, where people with mental issues are treated. In a tongue in cheek comment made on the article on The Malta Independent website, Ms Vella said; “I should be the first to be hauled off to Mount Carmel as I’ve been saying publicly for several years that MEPA is inconsistent in its treatment of both applicants and abusers”.

When contacted by this newsroom, Ms Vella said “that MEPA is weak with the strong and strong with weak”. 

What worries her most is not the government’s treatment of environment NGOs, but “its disregard of the public interest, and the way government consistently ignores the studies which it has commissioned at great public expense, only to reject these consultants’ warnings”.

“Cases in point are studies commissioned on land reclamation and tall buildings, where foreign experts carried out extensive studies which concluded that such developments would have a significant negative impact;, however the authorities chose to ignore this advice and press on with their damaging new policies to the detriment of the health of the Maltese public, tourism and the environment,” she said.

A promise of a better future… the demerger?

The MEPA de-merger is one of government’s core proposals regarding this topic, promised in their electoral manifesto. The idea, according to the manifesto, is to divide the environment and planning aspects of MEPA and strengthen the autonomy of both entities. The hope is for a reduction in bureaucracy and the administrative process.

According to the PL manifesto, this would result in a strengthening of the priority of the environment by merging it with the resources authority, thus creating the environment and resources authority that would be more proactive, strategic and will have a further focus on the environment and its protection. In addition, it read that this de-merger would create a better balance between the environment and responsible development.

“The main issue is whether the environment and enforcement directorates will be given the resources and strength they require; presently, we see the opposite happening,” Ms Vella said.

Asked whether she was informed as to when the de-merger would take place, she said that “we were informed that it will occur in 2015, however were given no firm indication as to the precise date”.