Destruction of pines (2)

It was interesting hearing Minister George Pullicino speak at the Wied Incita open day. He appealed for people to cooperate and take care of plants and trees and mentioned the destruction of 220 small trees planted by children in Mellieha.

I would like to appeal to the minister to lead by example. It is pathetic to hear such statements a few metres away from where the massacre of four very old Aleppo pine trees was blessed in the form of a permit issued in just two working days by Minister Pullicino's ministry.

The part of the law which states that a notice has to be affixed to the trees for at least three weeks before the uprooting takes place was ignored since the trees were destroyed as soon as the permit was issued.

The minister's spokesman told us that the development permit for a petrol station approved the creation of a roundabout for traffic management purposes in the area, and thereby approved the uprooting of the Aleppo pines.

In its hasty decision, the ministry must have forgotten that this development permit is currently in appeal. Is it really the environmentalists who are following a hidden agenda?