AD calls for referendum on large projects

Large projects requiring an Environmental Impact Assessment should be subject to a referendum that would allow residents to have their say, Alternattiva Demokratika maintained yesterday.

Once an EIA was completed, a referendum should take place if it was called by the local council or if 10 per cent of residents of the locality requested it by signing a petition, AD spokesman for sustainable development Carmel Cacopardo told a news conference.

"Residents ought to be involved in decisions regarding projects that will have an impact on their locality," he told a press conference at Marsamxett, with the Tignè Project towering in the background across the bay behind him.

He added that EIA reports ought to be made more accessible to the public and should be posted on the internet. This would ensure that residents would be informed about the outcome.

AD chairman Harry Vassallo said that over the years permits had been granted for several projects when there was no real need for them. Such construction had a serious effect on the residents whose complaints often fell on deaf ears.

In its electoral manifesto, in which AD was proposing a coalition government, it suggested that since both the Nationalist and Labour parties depended on funding from contractors and speculators, in a coalition government it ought to be given responsibility for the environment.

Among other suggestions, AD is proposing holding referendums for large projects and a reform of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority to separate the environment from the planning branch.