Alternattiva Demokratika said today that the continued growth of the Attard quarry (near the Rabat road) showed that the government and parliament never felt the need to introduce laws which set limits and parameters within which quarries could operate.
Quarry owners were using the lack of regulation to the detriment of residents, Ralph Cassar, AD Attard Councillor, said at a press conference.
He said that according to the police licence, upon completion of rock excavation, quarry owners were obliged to rehabilitate the area. However not one centimetre of land had been rehabilitated.
This quarry had also been allowed to store construction waste without any control or enforcement procedures as to how this should be kept or stored, he added.
Carmel Cacopardo, AD spokesperson for Sustainable Development, said the existence of this quarry so close to an inhabited area was unacceptable. MEPA and its predecessor, the PAPB should have take the decision to close this quarry a long time ago when it was decided that this zone would be a residential area.
"The operation of the quarry is not compatible with the existence of a residential area in such close proximity.'