The owners of 13 caravans and boathouses at Little Armier, in Mellieħa, have requested an injunction to stop the Land Department from evicting them from the land on which they have been squatting.

The owners, who claim discrimination, were served with eviction notices some days ago and given until Tuesday to leave the properties.

They complained that their rooms had been in place since the early 1980s and they could not remove them without demolishing them. These rooms, they said, were well equipped with beds, kitchens, water and electricity.

The owners said that in April 2003, the government had entered into an agreement with Armier Development Ltd, binding itself that rooms which had been set up before 1992 would not be demolished.

The government also promised to transfer the land to Armier Development Ltd on temporary emphyteusis within six months of receiving permits issued by the Malta Environment and Planning Authority.

The owners said the permit applications before Mepa were still pending and that the Commissioner for Land had discriminated against them because there were many other rooms in the vicinity that had not been served with any eviction order.

This order, they said, was abusive and could not be issued. The Land Department is expected to reply to the owners’ application, which was signed by lawyer Sarah Grima.