In the resurrection of an issue which dominated the news cycle for quite a few days earlier in the year, environmental activists have again been proven right by independent institutions – this time on the building of a road in Dingli by Infrastructure Malta.

The roadworks were a source of huge controversy earlier in the year, as residents and activists felt that Infrastructure Malta was running rough-shod over the rights landowners and of the general public by insisting on carrying out the works.

Protests and appeals subsequently followed – protests which included a sit-in for a number of days on the site itself, effectively blocking heavy machinery from entering what was arable land.  The plans were eventually changed after the pressure, and the road has since been completed.

Now, a few months down the line, it turns out that those protesting were right.

In a report issued earlier this week, The Commissioner for the Environment and Planning within the Office of the Ombudsman, Alan Saliba said that works by Infrastructure Malta began before they were authorised by Transport Malta and before the commencement notice regarding the environmental permission for the removal and pruning of trees was sent to the Environment and Resources Authority.

Indeed, the Commissioner found that the works had been contracted five months before they were authorised by Transport Malta, and that Infrastructure Malta’s contractors had entered private land before it was expropriated.

In his conclusions, the Commissioner wrote: "There is no need for a recommendation to be made for everyone to follow the law, as this should always be the order of the day, particularly for government entities that are an example to citizens."

The implication is quite clear: Infrastructure Malta broke the law in starting works in such a hurry.

The issue is that nobody was – or is, rather – there to hold them accountable for it. Had it not been for the hasty and sustained action of residents and NGOs, then Infrastructure Malta would have been allowed to go ahead with the works without anybody in power really blinking an eye.

One must also question Transport Minister Ian Borg in all of this.  He tried every trick in the book to justify the works – including suggesting that NGOs were protesting only because the works were in his hometown.  And yet he conveniently ignored that the works began without the necessary permissions.

So the question now – who will shoulder responsibility for this situation? It may be a couple of rural roads in Dingli, but the law is there for a reason, and private land particularly is sacrosanct.

Like the Commissioner said in his report, there isn’t the need for a recommendation to be made for people – especially government entities – to follow the law.  Likewise, there shouldn’t be any need for a recommendation for responsibility to be shouldered.

Another recommendation from the Commissioner was for a one-stop shop.

"the importance of a one-stop shop is being repeated, so that citizens would be well informed and for fines imposed on government entities would not only result in an internal transaction," the Commissioner said.

The one-stop shop idea was put forward by the Commissioner back in 2019 and would, among other things, receive every complaint about any environmental related matter, be it on the built environment or the un-built environment.

Such an institution would indeed give some much-needed transparency when it comes to the environment.

As things stand, who knows when another Dingli incident can happen.  And who knows if anyone will even realise that it’s happening.