A Żurrieq family yesterday demanded compensation from the government for land they claim was taken abusively by former Labour minister Karmenu Vella in the early 1980s.

The heirs of Catarina Camilleri said research showed the land, taken to build a road, had not been expropriated by official declaration of the President.

In a judicial protest, the heirs said that, during Mr Vella’s tenure as the Minister for Public Works between 1981 and 1984, he ordered that their land be used to build a road, Triq-id-Dejqa, in Żurrieq.

The protest was filed against Transport Minister Joe Mizzi, Mr Vella, who served tourism minister following the general election but stepped down last month after being nominated as Malta’s next European Commissioner, and against the chairman of the planning authority.

The heirs said that, after finding out that the land was never formally expropriated, they contacted Transport Malta but were told there was no information on the taking over of the land.

Furthermore, they complained, the planning authority was receiving applications for developments on the land when it was fully aware that the land was privately owned.

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