The government is looking into how chunks of Nadur land have been registered under the name of 17th century foundation beneficiaries.

Earlier this week, Nadur mayor Edward Said said several residents have been taken by surprise following claims that land they occupy belongs to the beneficiaries of the Sant Antonio Delli Navarra foundation, rather than themselves. 

The foundation also has real estate interests in Qala, Times of Malta revealed in January.

On Wednesday some 40 families raised their concern with Said before and during a local council meeting which discussed the issue. A separate public meeting about the land registration is being held on Saturday at 10am.

Said told Times of Malta that residents learnt that their land had been registered under the foundation's beneficiaries when they went to collect documentation from the Lands Department.

The ordeal has had a panic ripple effect on neighbouring villages. When contacted, Għajnsielem mayor Kevin Cauchi said several residents had called on the local council, asking whether their land was affected by the registration.

"Although so far, no one has received any notices or letters regarding the registration of their land, as a precaution we are asking them to check with the land authorities," he said.

On Friday morning, Alex Muscat, the parliamentary secretary for citizenship and community, promised to safeguard the Nadur residents' rights.

In a statement, the secretariat explained that on January 21, an application for the registration of 14,398 square metres had been submitted to the lands registration agency. A separate application for a further 13,252 square metres was submitted on February 12.

Muscat has called for a detailed report that would clarify matters and verify the validity of the process.

He will meet the Nadur local council on Monday.