Four environment NGOs, Flimkien ghal Ambjent Ahjar, Friends of the Earth, Ramblers and Graffitti, along with residents from all over Malta and Gozo whose homes have been affected by the Government Rationalisation Plans, last week filed a court case against the Chairman of MEPA and the three members of the Strategic Environment Assessment (SEA) Audit Team.
In their writ, the plaintiffs maintained that the Parliamentary motion of the 26th July 2006, by which substantial tracts of land became subject to development, was not founded on a legal basis, as legal procedures prescribed by both Maltese and EU law were not followed. The identification of lands began after the Authority had conducted and concluded the public consultation on the Local Plans. According to Regulation 4(2) of the same Legal Notice, a strategic environmental assessment for these widespread changes to the development zones had to be carried out “during the preparation of a plan or programme and before its submission". In spite of the terms of Article 13(1) of the EU Directive on the environment, that Member States had to comply with the Directive and carry out studies on projects which had not started prior to the 21st July 2004, the SEA team simply made a sweeping statement that it was 'not feasible to carry out a Strategic Environmental Assessment of the Rationalisation plans, rather than judging each area on its own merits.
The plaintiffs maintain that by not subjecting the Rationalisation exercise to a case by case study as required by the EU Directive, the members of the SEA Audit team carried out their duties in a most superficial and irresponsible manner.
The plaintiffs, who include persons possessing immovable property in Malta and Gozo, the value of which has been seriously diminished by the approval of the Rationalisation plans.