The Sliema Residents Association (SRA) has expressed its dismay that MEPA failed to inform the public that its pollution reporting service had been suspended, saying this case was similar to the way the ADT had not announced the stoppage of its SMS alerts system.

The SRA said this behaviour was unworthy of any self-respecting authority which was financed from public funds and tasked to safeguard the citizens' rights to a healthy environment and good quality of life.

"Regrettably, to date no solutions seem to be forthcoming neither from MEPA nor from ADT regarding the Sliema over-development problems, with MEPA authorizing further development and expecting other entities to address the traffic problems, while ADT asserting that the Sliema roads infrastructure cannot cope with the increased vehicular traffic and that further development will adversely effect the Sliema precarious traffic problems."

"In view of this let down by such authorities, we are urging the Sliema Local Council to take vehicular traffic pollution mitigating measures by assigning wardens at specific traffic pollution hotspots within Sliema and/or request ADT to assign its enforcement officers, to specifically stop and report any excessive polluting vehicles (including public transport vehicles)," the association said.

Such surveillance would serve as a deterrent to polluting vehicles going to and operating in Sliema, the association said.