Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar (FAA) said the Fort Cambridge project is set to violate residents' rights as its imminent adjudication will take place in the absence of the most important studies.
The next hearing of the Mepa board on the application for a massive residential development on the site of the former Holiday Inn Hotel is scheduled for Thursday.
But the FAA said a traffic management plan is still being prepared by the ADT when, in an area already often gridlocked at peak hours, the effect of about 1,000 more cars that the project will bring into the area is a key issue. The organisation also questioned the lack of social impact assessment - a study of how the project will affect residents, both during the construction as well as later operational phases, and how such impacts can be reduced.
"This SIA had been repeatedly requested by the Sliema local council and the request had been accepted by Mepa. Other projects have been made to prepare a thorough SIA, so why not Fort Cambridge?" FAA asked.
Sliema's residents have been living in a construction site for decades, it charged. Over-development was changing the Sliema community in every way, both as regards structure and age, as well as population density, way of life, quality of life, transport and even health issues.
"In spite of this, no one is caring about how this change is being brought about and no attempt is being made to alleviate the impacts of this change on Sliema's residents."
The NGO argued that in the context of an already established community, an SIA is the most important part of an environment impact assessment.
It ties together all the other studies in assessing how the construction, increased traffic, use of water and electricity and drainage services, shading, winds and visual impact are going to affect residents' way of life, their physical and mental health and reduce as far as possible the negative impacts.
"Mepa's outright refusal to carry out such an assessment indicates a callous disregard for residents' welfare on the part of the authorities and a single-minded determination to push through building projects at any cost to the population," it said.
The FAA highlighted the fact that, when Prime Minister Lawrence Gonzi addressed Qui-Si-Sana residents as outgoing Prime Minister one week before the election, he promised them that their needs would be taken into account and that they would be consulted.
"So far no consultation has taken place."