A year has passed from the Environment’s Minister declaration that the 2015 Fuel Service Station Policy is wrong and needs to be revised. This policy incentivizes massive commercial complexes, under the guise of fuel stations, on agricultural and natural land designated as ODZ. Although the Environment and Resource Authority (ERA) completed its review in April, stating that the revised policy should not allow fuel stations on ODZ, the PA has not yet published for public consultation a draft of the revised policy.
The result: new applications for ODZ fuel stations continue to be submitted under this current, defective, policy. There are 16 applications for ODZ fuel stations, with four having been accepted already and others still being processed, covering a total area equal to six times the Floriana granaries.
It is baffling that the PA is taking such a ridiculously long time to carry out a simple change to the policy. The PA’s Executive Chairperson, Johann Buttigieg, stated in November that a draft of the reviewed policy was ready to be issued for public consultation. However, yet another month has passed and the policy remains unpublished.
It is clear that the PA is taking everyone for a ride by dragging its feet and keeping the current policy in place, thus allowing a few developers to continue enriching themselves by building on ODZ.
Moviment Graffitti is also concerned that the PA might use the public consultation process as a way to continuing to postpone the revision of the policy by, for example, taking a very long time to come up with a final version of the revised policy after the consultation period closes. The PA should not only publish the reviewed policy for consultation immediately, but it should also establish a date for the entry into force of the final, revised, policy.
Send a pre-written email to the authorities to express your outrage at this policy and at the PA’s inaction in changing it by following this link: https://bit.ly/2Ts0Eqi
______________________________________________________________
WARA SENA SĦIĦA, IL-WEGĦDA TA’ TIBDIL FIL-POLICY DWAR IL-POMPI TAL-PETROL BAQGĦET MA TWETTQITX
Għaddiet sena minn meta l-Ministru għall-Ambjent iddikjara li l-Fuel Service Station Policy tal-2015 hija ħażina u hemm bżonn tiġi riveduta. Din il-policy tinċentiva l-bini ta’ kumplessi kummerċjali massivi, taparsi pompi tal-petrol, fuq art agrikola u naturali barra ż-żoni tal-iżvilupp (ODZ). Għalkemm l-Awtorità għall-Ambjent u r-Riżorsi (ERA) lestiet ir-reviżjoni tagħha f’April, fejn qalet li l-policy riveduta m’għandhiex tħalli pompi tal-petrol fuq ODZ, il-PA għadha ma ppubblikatx għall-konsultazzjoni l-abbozz tal-policy riveduta.
Ir-riżultat: applikazzjonijiet ġodda għall-pompi tal-petrol f’ODZ jistgħu jibqgħu jintefgħu taħt il-policy difettuża kurrenti. Hemm 16-il applikazzjoni għal pompi tal-petrol f’ODZ, b’erbgħa minnhom diġà ġew approvati u l-oħrajn għadhom qed jiġu ipproċessata. Flimkien, dawn ikopru ammont ta’ art li fiha daqs sitt darbiet il-fosos tal-Furjana.
Hija xi ħaġa inkredibbli li l-PA qed tieħu tul esaġerat ta’ żmien sabiex tagħmel bidla daqshekk sempliċi fil-policy. Iċ-Chairperson Eżekuttiv tal-PA, Johann Buttigieg, iddikjara f’Novembru li abbozz tal-policy riveduta kien lest biex joħroġ għall-konsultazzjoni pubblika. Iżda laħaq għadda xahar ieħor u dan għadu ma ġiex ippubblikat.
Huwa ċar li l-PA qed tiddieħek bin-nies billi tkaxkar saqajha u tħalli fis-seħħ il-policy kurrenti, biex b’hekk ftit żviluppaturi jkunu jistgħu jkomplu jistagħnew billi jibnu fuq ODZ.
Il-Moviment Graffitti huwa wkoll imħasseb dwar il-fatt li l-PA tista’ tuża l-proċess ta’ konsultazzjoni pubblika biex tkompli tippostponi r-reviżjoni ta’ din il-policy billi, pereżempju, tieħu żmien twil ħafna biex toħroġ il-policy finali riveduta wara li jagħlaq il-perjodu ta’ konsultazzjoni. Il-PA għandha mhux biss tippubblika il-policy riveduta għall-konsultazzjoni immedjatament, imma wkoll tagħti data meta din il-policy finali, riveduta, se tidħol fis-seħħ.
Ibgħat email miktuba bil-lest lill-awtoritajiet sabiex tesprimi l-għadab tiegħek għal din il-policy u għan-nuqqas t’azzjoni mill-PA, minn din il-ħolqa: https://bit.ly/2Ts0Eqi
