Environmentalists expressed concern yesterday over a scheduled archaeological zone in Howard Gardens which is being excavated for a karozzin stand.

Addressing a news conference at the Mdina Gate, Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar coordinator Astrid Vella said that the application should have gone through the full planning process.

The Alternattiva Demokratika deputy chairman, Carmel Cacopardo, explained that there had been no public consultation – since the planning authority had accepted the use of the Development Notification Order process, instead of the normal, full process of application.

This had bypassed a core function of the planning process, depriving Mdina and Rabat residents, as well as NGOs, of the opportunity to participate in the decision-making process.

When viewed together with the fact that the electronic information on the case was mysteriously absent from the Mepa website, one inevitably concludes that the process must have been wilfully sabotaged

“When viewed together with the fact that the electronic information on the case was mysteriously absent from the Mepa website, one inevitably concludes that the process must have been wilfully sabotaged,” Mr Cacopardo added.

Environmentalist Alfred Baldacchino meanwhile expressed outrage at the permits being granted by Mepa saying it was “failing to take action on other damage to heritage sites in the Rabat area”.

Using excavators to create a carpark in the Fuq it-Tomba area caused untold damage to the environment and further imperilled the state of the ancient Għajn Ħammem which lies beneath it, he said.

“Mepa is the worst enemy of society and the environment,” Mr Baldacchino said.