The Court of Appeal has ruled that a sizeable piece of land in Siġġiewi that developer Polidano has been using as a quarry for years must be returned to the public.
The Court, presided by Chief Justice Mark Chetcuti, Judge Robert Mangion and Judge Grazio Micallef upheld the ruling of the Civil Court in a case filed by the Lands Authority that Polidano & Schembri Quarries Ltd, as well as three brothers owning the concession, had breached the conditions of the concession.
The Court of Appeal also confirmed that Polidano must be evicted from the land, which is over four hectares.
The quarry, located in an area known as Tal-Ġibjun at a crossroads with Tal-Għolja in Siġġiewi, has been the subject of complaints for many years because of the dust, noise, and trucks in the area.
The land was given to the Camilleri brothers’ uncle, Antonio Camilleri, in 1933 to use as agricultural land for LM 1 (Maltese lira) for 150 years.
The land was eventually transferred to his nephews in 1977 who remain the owners of the concession even if they transferred it to Polidano.
Before that, they had transferred the land to F&A Quarries Ltd in 1992 for LM 35,000 (Maltese lira), which is over €70,000.
They then transferred the land to Polidano Brothers in 1995.
Several warnings were sent to the brothers to stop their breach of the conditions on which the land was granted to them, which were ignored.
The conditions included its use as arable land and the planting of trees in areas where that was not possible, otherwise fines would be imposed and the government would have the right to claim it back.
Among the arguments raised by the Camilleri brothers was the issue that argued that the police continued to issue permits for its use as a quarry.
The Court of Appeal insisted the land must be returned to the public within two months.
How about the theft of such a precious resource for so many years? How will the country be compensated?
Then we are supposed to wonder how certain people become Billionaires..when they are simple gangsters pilfering public resources..and this is all too common with certain untouchables
If they lived in any other European country, I can imagine the Camilleri brothers might be a little concerned by the Court of Appeal’s judgement. Here in Malta they will probably have a good laugh about it before discussing how to ignore it over a few Cisks with a senior member of the Polidano family, who will then have a quiet word with a ‘Person of Trust’ in the Office of the Prime Minister with the ultimate objective of consigning the Chief Justice’s ruling to the rubbish bin. Simple!
As happened in St. JULIANS where ignoring Court and PA rulings Polidano built a swimming pool complex with restaurants etc etc..making millions only to be fined 50k after he was done..
If this is not corruption what is?
The usual names the usual people who get rich at the expense of the general public usually with the aid of officials.
One thing also to notice, is how a sizable piece of land of over 4 hectars was rented out at Lm1 per year for agricultural purposes already shows how land was given free to farmers who as often abused the lease and rented it out for Lm70,000…and yet, the Government continues to oppress landowners.
Stupid are any landowners who shall vote PL
Not only land restitution but fined for all the years of environmental degradation and fined heavily enough to refill the quarry and put in a soil layer and plant new vegetation.
And what about compensation? Any fines? In Malta if you are rich or famous, do what ever you want, break the law, steal, and if you get got caught bad luck, they just stop you.