TOP NEWS | Sunday, 15 July 2007

Polidano’s squats on government land for 10 years

The Court of Appeals last week ruled that Polidano Brothers Limited, the group of companies belonging to construction magnate Charles Polidano, has been illegally occupying 3,000 square metre stretch of land in Hal Farrug, limits of Mqabba, since allegedly purchasing the property in 1997.
The property, which will now return to the Lands Department after a legal battle waged over five years, has since been used as a parking space for Polidano Bros employees, asphalted and surrounded by a ring wall.
The same ruling also rejected the Lands Department’s request that Polidano Brothers pay damages arising from the same illegal occupation.
The land in question was bought by Polidano in September 1997, in the area known as Tal-Wied, close to the airport runway off the Hal Farrug Road between Siggiewi and Luqa. The Lands Department claimed that the same land was included in a plot bought separately by the Government in November 1979. Despite discrepancies between the descriptions of the land in the two contracts, the annexed plans show clearly that the plot of land is one and the same.
Curiously however, nobody at Polidano Group appears to know anything about the case. Lawyer Dr Jesmond Manicaro has also denied any knowledge of the case.