Alan Deidun, a biologist and board member in the Malta Environment and Resources Authority has dismissed plans to transplant 25 old Aleppo pine trees on Selmun Hill.

The plans for the uprooting envision relocating the trees to a “green central strip” along the same road.

The claim that these trees can be transplanted  is “utter bollocks”, Deidun said, since such trees don’t survive transplanting.

“Just have a look at the ‘transplanted’ Aleppo pine trees at the downsized Qormi roundabout……they have all shrivelled up……and the madness continues unabated.”

The 25 trees will be uprooted to make way for road widening plans.

Ruben Abela, a former Chief Executive at the Malta Resources Authority, has also joined the fray describing Transport Malta’s plans as “a useless and senseless project” and “money down the drain” simply because an “even narrower bottleneck at Xemxija hill” cannot be widened.

The  proposal will include widening from one lane northbound/uphill and one lane southbound/downhill to two lanes northbound/uphill and one lane southbound/downhill. The land that will be impacted by the development is 4653 square metres.

The Environment and Resources Authority also objected to the plans due to the considerable land take-up at the expense of afforested and undeveloped rural land.