M.E.P.A. disregarded its own enforcement notice when, last Monday, it failed to remove illegally dumped material from a field in Wied Garnaw and instead simply covered it up with soil, the Save Wied Garnaw Action Group said in a statement yesterday. Moreover, an illegal 1.8-metre-high boundary wall around the site has been left in place.

The Save Wied Garnaw Action Group yesterday said the field had not been restored to its original state and remained an eyesore. And the Malta Environment and Planning Authority is currently considering an application for the building of a waste sorting plant on this very spot in a fertile valley which falls outside the development zone.

"One starts to wonder whether this application has in some way influenced MEPA's decision to allow the illegally dumped material and boundary wall to remain in place," the group said.

"This is a particular concern since the Ombudsman has highlighted cases where MEPA did not remove illegalities because it was anticipating their future approval. These are set out in a report presented by the Ombudsman to Parliament in April 2004, and again from his recently published annual report for 2003."

If MEPA were acting in good faith, the group would be glad to receive a written explanation. But when the Save Wied Garnaw Action Group asked MEPA to explain its omission, MEPA's chairman (through his PRO) replied that MEPA is not obliged to justify its actions.

Is MEPA not accountable to the public? the group asked. This question was posed to the Ombudsman's Office, and the unequivocal reply was that citizens have a sacrosanct right to receive replies to their queries from public authorities.

The Save Wied Garnaw Action Group publicly called on Environment Minister George Pullicino, who is responsible for MEPA, to investigate why MEPA allowed the illegal wall and dumped material to remain in place, and instead simply covered the field with soil.