VALLETTA (MALTA) (ITALPRESS/MNA) – Ten environmental organisations have united to call a national protest in Malta on Saturday 4 October, denouncing government planning reforms they describe as a “developers’ coup” threatening the country’s landscapes and townscapes.
The demonstration, titled Ġustizzja għal Artna: Irtirawhom Issa! (Justice for Our Land: Withdraw Them Now!), will begin at 10am outside the Law Courts in Valletta before moving to Castille, the Prime Minister’s office. Organisers said the march will mark the start of a “season of people’s resistance” against two proposed laws, Bills 143 and 144, which they warn would dismantle environmental protections and undermine citizens’ rights. Bill 143, first tabled in July by Prime Minister Robert Abela’s Labour government, would expand the powers of the Planning Authority and sideline local development plans. Campaigners argue this would enable large-scale development in previously safeguarded areas. Bill 144 would shorten the appeal window for planning decisions from 30 to 20 days, while introducing fines of up to €5,000 for appeals deemed “frivolous.”
Environmental groups say the measure is designed to intimidate citizens and silence opposition. Perhaps most controversially, the reforms would allow developers to regularise illegal constructions through fees, a move critics argue rewards unlawful building practices. Although the bills were temporarily shelved after a public backlash, environmentalists insist they remain a live threat. “This is the opening salvo of a wider movement to defend our land,” the coalition said in a joint statement. The protest is expected to draw broad participation from residents, activists, and civil society groups alarmed at what they call an unprecedented assault on Malta’s environmental heritage.
– photo IPA Agency –
(ITALPRESS).
