Wied Qirda has been mutilated mercilessly as a result of unauthorised works being carried out in this protected valley by Infrastructure Malta, activists said. The country path has been tarmacked over and widened considerably, the topography of the valley bed has been altered, a large structure is being built over the valley bed and the very physical characteristics of the valley have been changed.

This has been done without authorization from ERA, in an ecologically sensitive zone without any form of approved method statement. It is unacceptable, retrograde and barbaric for a government agency to bulldoze a special area of conservation without any regard for the law whatsoever.

Moviment Graffitti, Friends of the Earth Malta, Futur Ambjent Wieħed, Haż-Żebbuġ local councillor Steve Zammit Lupi and environmentalist Arnold Cassola have joined forces to file a legal action calling upon the ERA to uphold the law and environmental regulations, and remedy the environmental damage done.

The appellants called upon the ERA to establish who is personally and directly responsible for ordering and authorizing these barbaric actions in the valley. "It would be adding insult to injury to have Infrastructure Malta pay to remedy the environmental damage, when Infrastructure Malta is paid for by the taxpayer" said a spokesperson for the appellants.

"The taxpayer would first have financed the illegal works and then also for their removal. It is high time that personal liability is assumed by those responsible for the outright destruction of Wied Qirda, and also to set the yardstick for similar misbehaviour in the future. Law-abiding citizens should not have to pay for Frederick Azzopardi’s and Infrastructure Malta's mess."

In comments to the media, Infrastructure Minister Ian Borg said that, as a minister, he was not involved in the legal action. “We have the rule of law and the minister does not get involved in legal action.” The courts are responsible to take decisions, he said.