PN MP Michael Piccinino has called on the Environment and Resources Authority (ERA) to hold a public meeting with residents over persistent odours affecting parts of Paola, Tarxien and Santa Luċija.

In a letter addressed to Energy, Environment and Grand Harbour Regeneration Minister Miriam Dalli and ERA Chairperson Architect Vincent Cassar, Piccinino said residents in the affected areas had been experiencing "strong, unbearable odours" for several years.

He said the issue had been reported by residents and local councillors, and that he had personally filed several reports with the ERA in recent months.

According to Piccinino, he had repeatedly been told that the ERA would investigate the complaints, but the problem had persisted without residents receiving a satisfactory explanation of the source of the odours or what measures were being taken to address them.

" It is unacceptable for residents to repeatedly face the same inconvenience without receiving clear answers regarding the cause of the problem and the measures being taken to resolve it once and for all," he said.

Piccinino called on the ERA to organise a public meeting open to residents of the affected localities, where they could raise their concerns and put questions directly to the Authority's representatives.

He said the ERA should use the meeting to provide an account of the investigations carried out, the conclusions reached, the measures taken so far and the concrete action planned to address the issue.

"Residents deserve not only to be heard but also to receive the answers they have long been seeking and to see the necessary action taken," Piccinino said.

He asked the ERA to confirm whether it was willing to organise the meeting and to propose a date.

Piccinino also said he would make the letter public "in the interest of transparency".