I refer to the letter Another Natura Site To Hit The Dust (November 17) penned by Alex Vella, president of the Ramblers Association of Malta, in which he chooses to misquote what the chairman of the Malta Environment and Planning Authority, Austin Walker said at one of the monthly meetings Mepa holds for eNGOs.

At this particular meeting, on replying to Mr Vella’s intervention, Mr Walker clearly pointed out he will continue to refuse the sanctioning of residential applications that seek permission for an increase in footprint in outside development zones, even though at appeals stage these decisions can and are sometimes overturned by the Appeals Board. One must recall this board is autonomous from Mepa.

The scope of the monthly meetings with eNGOs, which have now been going on for over a year, is to serve as a platform for discussion and dialogue whereby both Mepa and eNGOs can address and understand each other in a more effective and positive way. While most eNGOs acknowledge that these meetings are very fruitful, it is unfortunate that an NGO chooses to misquote what gets discussed to try and gain mileage out of these meetings.