Environment Minister Aaron Farrugia has defended the decision to uproot mature trees in Attard to make way for the Central Link project, saying the new road will reduce toxic emissions.

He also pointed out that for every uprooted tree the government will be planting 30 new ones.

The matter was raised in parliament on Tuesday by Opposition deputy leader David Agius who made a series of questions on the matter. Agius asked the environment minister if he agreed with the project which resulted in the destruction of mature trees and large tracts of agricultural land. He also took issue with the fact that a very old tree was axed on Monday evening, while finance minister Edward Scicluna was delivering the budget speech.

In his replies, Farrugia insisted that the uprooting was in line with the permit issued by the Environment Resources Authority. He would not confirm nor deny if this tree in question had been transplanted or chopped to pieces.

Works on the Central Link Project are expected to take another year with the total number of trees being uprooted numbering around 450. The project aims to ease traffic from the Attard village core, and the government has been long insisting the new road had been in the pipeline since the 1960s.