Andrew Borg Cardona's interest in the environment seems to be newly acquired. Strange how we do not recall him calling developers, or certain Mepa members, "arrogant" or any of the other adjectives he used in his piece to describe those fighting to prevent illegalities taking place. Coming from a lawyer this is more than strange.
Dr Borg Cardona, following the "divide and rule" principle, brings in Din l-Art Ħelwa and it is for them to rebut such attempts. I would simply ask the learned doctor to consult Newsletter No. 15 of August 2009 where the Baħrija "controversial permit" is described as "another outrage".
Dr Borg Cardona saw it fit to resurrect the St John's Cathedral saga claiming that the NGOs were against the EIA process when, in fact, a "strong EIA process" is precisely what Flimkien għal Ambjent Aħjar called for, one that is balanced, objective, professional and impartial.
The overriding issues with St John's were those of having the project approved for EU funds before Mepa's approval, which is not the way such EU projects are normally handled. It also seemed outrageous to allocate €16 million to a non-essential project for which alternative possibilities exist when not even €2.5 million were made available for the restoration of forts St Elmo and St Angelo, which are both in an advanced state of deterioration.
Another prime concern was the impact years of construction would have had on the heart of Valletta, with residents, businesses and visitors subjected to dust, noise and vibration and heavy vehicles. The ripping up of the freshly-laid Merchants Street paving, costing thousands of euros, was another prime consideration.
On the St John's case, the Mepa director of planning wrote: "The project is a non-starter as no amount of mitigation measures (recommended in an EIA) can completely eliminate the risk to the stability of the foundations of St John's Cathedral".
That many have taken issue with the planning process is well known. We do not recall what Dr Borg Cardona had to say about the results of the planning process regarding the Fort Cambridge debacle and the fact that a DCC board resigned en bloc after the Safi Lidl supermarket case.
Dr Borg Cardona accuses us of wanting to embarrass the government when it is politicians on either side of the political divide who embarrass themselves. He expects volunteer NGOs to monitor all development applications when this is what the taxpayer pays Mepa to do. We would also remind Dr Borg Cardona that neither the Ramblers Association nor FAA existed in 2002 when the first applications started being processed.
It is sad to see the learned doctor accusing NGOs of short-termism in objecting to highly damaging permits. He seems to prefer to risk things going wrong (with the very remote possibility of having them altered later) rather than nipping the obvious in the bud.
Is Dr Borg Cardona aware that a deep trench in Sliema caused severe damage to the structure of an old church, the digging of a shop basement in Merchants Street caused widespread structural damages to the historical building above and the excavation of a safe in St John's precincts caused irreparable damage to the crypt? Should we also have risked the excavation of a hole as big as a quarry adjacent to St John's Co-Cathedral and then sit back long-term and watch the cracks gradually snake up through the Mattia Preti wall-paintings.
The results of a long history of flawed decisions are staring Dr Borg Cardona in the face. To persist with such practices is more than diabolical. It is a renunciation of the national interest in favour of political short-termism.