Expropriated land

I refer to letters by Mario Grech and Joseph J. Xuereb regarding expropriated land pre-1993 (April 17). The impression given is far from correct.

As rightly put by Mr Xuereb the problem regarding compensation of expropriated land dates back more than 50 years, indeed much earlier than the setting up of the Lands Department in 1962. Over the years, successive administrations requested the Lands Department to expropriate property, without providing the necessary funds to cover payment for same.

In 1993, the Lands Department, with the backing of the Finance Ministry, set up a policy whereby no President's Declaration for expropriation of private property would be issued, unless funds necessary for the same expropriation were transferred to the Lands Department, and deposited in an interest-bearing bank account ready to be assigned to the owners. This policy, which has now been introduced in the Lands Acquisition Ordnance, ascertained that the practice of expropriating property without bothering about payment was eradicated once and for all. Presently, there are Lm7 million deposited in bank accounts, waiting to be claimed by their owners. Incidentally, these deposits have also alleviated the government in the payment of damages on compensation due, another of the many far reaching amendments made to the Land Acquisition Ordnance in the last five years.

Regarding pre-1993 expropriations, compensation and damages for these have to be paid directly from the vote allocated every year to the Lands Department for this purpose. Unfortunately this is not enough to cater for all the pre-1993 expropriations at the same time, and hence only a number of them can be settled every year.

The expropriation referred to by Mr Xuereb dates back to 1956 and was due to be settled last year. Unfortunately all the money voted in 2005 for payment of pre-1993 expropriations had to be used to effect payments as ordered by the Land Arbitration Board. It will now be settled in the next few months. I think it is only fair to point out that in such cases, a revaluation is always carried out; in this particular case, in fact, the value has increased more than 20-fold and damages on same will be paid in accordance with Chapter 88.

Finally, allow me to inform readers that in the last eight years, the government paid over Lm28 million in compensation for expropriated property.