For years, Ronnie Gauci has almost been a fixture at Top of the World in Għargħur as he unfailingly volunteers his time tending to the scenic landscape.

But now, instead of planting flowers and trees and working on his stone creations, he has been hacking away at the embellishments – which he describes as “part of me” – under Planning Authority orders.

The heart-wrenching sight of Gauci destroying his life’s work and uprooting “illegal” plants, rather than watering them, has sparked outrage and saddened the many who frequent the area.

Joggers, strollers and picnickers have stopped to express their sympathy.

Mostly, they are livid about the fact that the authority has flexed its muscles over a small shrine while the country is being raped by illegal development.

Gauci was slapped with a warning from the PA in March about “structures without permits”, demanding that the “illegal development” be halted.

The letter threatened a Stop Notice and other action to halt the works, while any expenses would have to be recuperated.

In answer to questions, the PA said the work had been carried out without development permission and the “contravener” had agreed to start removing “the various accretions”.

“Daily fines (which may reach a maximum of €50,000) only commence if an enforcement notice is issued.”

It later reiterated its position in a post on Facebook also saying the niche will not be touched.

Gauci said he had done his utmost to circumvent the order.

So, together with his brother and son, he has picked up a sledgehammer, instead of watering can and hoe, and, with a heavy heart, has started smashing the innocuous stone statues honouring two saints.

Next in line would be a niche to the Madonna, which he said even attracted tourists but required a Lands Authority permit. At Christmas, the area is transformed into a crib, with the landscape lending itself to the nativity scene.

Up for destruction is also a pond Gauci created from the rock formation that is now home to several fish and a source of entertainment for passing children.

Gauci pointed out the tadpoles in the waterholes he created among the rocks as his green fingers yesterday painfully pulled out the pretty plants he has nurtured, on grounds that they are not indigenous, a word he barely comprehends because a flower is a flower to him.

Toothless with bullies, iron fist with commoners

People from beyond his hometown have been so appreciative of his efforts that benefactors, who have seen the good in his daily deeds, have ensured he has had the means to irrigate them.

In fact, a bowser of water is delivered to the site every week.

“I feel devoid of energy,” a teary Gauci, a retired former soldier who, at 66, is often spotted running in the area, said.

Leaning against the rubble boundary wall of Ġnien tal-Ponta he himself had maintained, saving the local council thousands of euros, he admitted he was mentally drained.

Until six years ago, the area was a rubbish tip and just about anything would be dumped there, Gauci recalled.

But driven by a love for nature, his hometown and the preservation of rural heritage, he started sprucing up and maintaining the stretch of land he took under his wing.

It called out to him to be developed into a pristine rock garden and he proceeded to use his skills with old stone.

Starting at 6am, Gauci would spend hours, sometimes returning in the evening, to keep everything ship-shape, feeling proud of the positive comments he would receive from those who stumbled upon the ‘accidental’ gardener.

Gauci is also active in the community, responsible for works at the village’s football grounds and its oratory, as well as painting the church’s cupola.

He is involved in Għargħur’s choirs, fireworks and feasts.

Gauci has done clean-ups of the rubbish left overnight by the many who visit the popular vantage point. But he has not found cooperation when he needed it and is now feeling rather dejected.

On the other hand, as Gauci and his shaken family smash the creations to smithereens, helpless passers-by have been stopping to show their gratitude for “taking care of” the site.

One distressed man offered him his nearby land to do what he wanted with it and move his works there, suggesting rallying the community to raise any necessary funds for support.

Claudia Schembri, who has only just moved to the village, said the situation showed how “toothless the PA is with big bullies and corrupt people but uses an iron fist with commoners who love their locality”.

“It is this little sanctuary that is targeted for enforcement,” she told Times of Malta.

Schembri described Gauci as someone who “meant well, providing some solace in this concrete jungle. Yet, in these cases, the law is applied to the letter!”

She listed numerous recent instances of lack of enforcement against the occupation of public land, such as illegal road works on Comino and a kiosk on the Sliema promenade.

It was ironic, she added, that the controversial caravan village of Għallis could be spotted from Top of the World.

While other parts of the once tranquil and rural Għargħur are being eaten up by hungry contractors and their unbridled development, changing the nature of the village, one man defending ‘his’ patch on a voluntary basis was under “attack”.

Asked how he would be filling his days since his ‘hobby’ has been axed, Gauci said he had failed to start a job at someone’s house because of what he was going through.

Many passers-by would stop to offer him work at their homes but he would invariably decline to dedicate himself to the site, he recalled.

“I was told this is not mine and what if everyone did like me… my answer was that I have not met anyone as crazy as I am to dedicate their time to this,” he said.

In a recent interview in a village publication, Gauci had promised: “I have made a pact with God, and until I remain healthy, I will continue.”

But it seems like the powers-that-be have other plans.