People’s sector petitions Administrative Court to cancel Chao Phraya promenade project

21 Nov 2018, Matichon reported that the River Assembly, the People’s Art and Culture Foundation, the Civil Society Planning Network and the Riverside Community Network went to the Administrative Court, Chaeng Watthana Road, Bangkok, to file a lawsuit against four state agencies: the Cabinet, the Chao Phraya for All Project Steering Committee, the Ministry of Interior and the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration, calling for the cancellation of the Chao Phraya for All Project.

(By courtesy of: Facebook/Friends of the River)

Paranee Sawasdirak, a city planning academic, said that the project is still incomplete in both content and participation, while S. Rattanamanee Phonkla from the Community Resource Centre Foundation’s legal team said that she thought the project, which had started in 2015, had already been cancelled. However, there was an announcement calling for tenders. The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration proposed the project to the Ministry of Interior. Thus, it was at a point where the lawsuit had to be submitted, otherwise if the bidding process is passed, from announcing price estimates to private bids, there will be problems for both state agencies and private organisations doing the project.

The plaintiffs brought in documents containing more than 3,000 pages, with information on the project from the government sector and from additional research, research on the impacts, news from various media, activities that the City Planning Network has opposed, and letters that have been submitted to various agencies. The Office of the Central Administrative Court received 5 sets of documents for Case No. Black 88/2561 and the plaintiffs also submitted a request for the Court to order a temporary protection order to delay the project, since no one knows how long the hearings will take.

On the same day, Matichon reported that Pol Gen Asawin Kwanmuang, Governor of Bangkok, speaking at the Rama VIII Bridge, Bang Phlat District, confirmed that all procedures were transparent and open for people's participation. Additionally, the government had approved a budget of around 10 billion baht.

Asawin also stated that currently the project is in the process of adjusting the construction design of the 10-metre-wide riverside walkway and cycle path which King Mongkut's Institute of Technology Ladkrabang had designed considering all possible impacts and adjusting the landscape of the embankment, piers, riverside pavilions, public service areas and access to electricity and drainage. For a start the construction will be divided into two phases, with 3 kilometres on the Phra Nakhon side from the Rama VII Bridge to the Samsen Royal Irrigation Department, in Bang Sue and Dusit districts . When the design is finished, which is expected during May-June 2019, the specifications will be announced by an electronic bidding system (e-bidding).

The Chao Phraya Landscape Improvement Project became a topic of conversation again after 2 Nov 2018, when at the National Reform Steering Assembly meeting No. 9/2561 chaired by Gen Prawit Wongsuwan, Deputy Prime Minister and the Minister of Defence a report on the progress of the project was accepted (source: Royal Thai Government).

Information from the Dailynews  in April indicated that construction for the Chao Phraya promenade will be divided into 4 contracts, with a length of 14 kilometres and a 8,363 million baht budget. 

From Rama VII Bridge to Samsen Canal: budget of 1,770 million baht

From Samsen Canal to Somdet Phra Pinklao Bridge: 2,470 million baht

From Rama VII Bridge to Bang Phlat Canal: 2,061.5 million baht

From Bang Phlat Canal to Somdet Phra Pinklao Bridge: 2061.5 baht

The Chaophraya River Circle questioned the participation procedures, fearing conflict with the constitution due to a failure to assess impacts.

Left to right: Kanokwan Kanokwanawong, Pradech Phayakvichien, Sulak Sivaraksa, Prinya Thaewanarumitkul, Buntoon Sethasiroj

On 16 Nov, the People’s Art and Culture Foundation, the Society for the Conservation of National Treasure and Environment, the River Assembly and Friends of the River hosted a conference on the Beloved Chao Phraya, Love it Before it’s Too Late: My Chao Phraya” at the Bangkok Art and Culture Centre.

Pradech Phayakvichien, an expert member of the Krung Rattanakosin and Old City Conservation and Development Committee, said that the Chao Phraya River project is the current idea of Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, Prime Minister and Head of the National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO), who said that there should be a riverside promenade like in foreign countries. However, the procedures of the Chao Phraya for All Project have been done as if there is already an answer before doing any studies. Even though the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration agency that would be most directly responsible for this protect is the Department of City Planning, which must do the studies, this project has ended up in the hands of the Department of Public Works, which has only the job of construction. It’s as if they already have an answer before doing any studies, which is very strange.Pradech said the reason for dividing the construction project into 4 segments isn’t to make the work easy, but because if the work is done all in one go there will be a part of the project that is inside the Rattanakosin Island district. A resolution of the Krung Rattanakosin Conservation and Development Committee (Krung Committee) does not approve of that kind of study and work. When corners are cut and the walkway outside the Rattanakosin district is built first, the Krung Committee will not be able to stop the project.

Qualified members of the Krung Committee also said that the separation of the community from the riverside promenade will result in the promenade not being a part of the existing community. When they are not together there will be a lack of a sense of ownership, and when there is no sense of ownership, no one will take care of it. An easy way to look at it is when one-way bicycle paths were constructed around Rattanakosin, they were not accepted and all the shops around the area removed them since they never felt that they received any benefit, just a negative impact. They got nothing from them; there was no common benefit.

Buntoon Sethasiroj, a member of the National Reform Committee on Natural Resources and Environment, presented information from the Chao Phraya For All Project. The documents from the responsible agencies tried to answer questions from many other agencies. It was found that the project has a rather good vision, with the objective of restoring the river. The project speaks of conserving the river and community folkways. It has rather good planning. But have the participation procedures, which state that all sides would receive fair treatment, accept the decisions, and give the people and related parties and stakeholders a say in the decision-making, been enough? Buntoon said that the attempts to ensure participation concerned the riverside groups or those affected by the project, but for broader audiences like those expressing concerns or other Bangkok dwellers, or even people throughout the country, they have not yet been achieved. The forums for participation were also in the form of providing information and stating opinions, but not giving advice or joint planning or joint decision-making .

Buntoon further said that in principle, the participation process can actually be done at various levels, but the problems lie with the state agencies which are limited by the Prime Minister Office’s regulations of 2005 that cover listening to the people’s opinions. They limit the participation of the people to the listening level, and do not include joint decision-making . So the state should wait for the People’s Participation in Public Policies Act to pass first. Right now a draft has been submitted to the National Legislative Assembly after collecting 10,000 signatures from the people, while the draft at the government level is waiting for Cabinet approval.

The National Reform Committee on Natural Resources and Environment stated that Article 58 of the 2017 Constitution in the Section on the Duties of the State requires the state to study and assess the impact on the quality of the environment and the health of the people or community, and listen to the opinions of stakeholders and related people and communities. The Chao Phraya For All project falls under Article 58 of the 2017 Constitution. The question is whether the project owners were aware that their actions are in conflict with the Constitution.

Section 58. In the case where any activity to be implemented by the State or with permission of the State may seriously constitute impact on natural resources, environmental quality, health, hygiene, quality of life or any other substantial interest of people or community or environment, the State shall manage for the undertaking of a study and an evaluation of impact on environmental quality and health of the people or community, and for the consultation with the concerned stakeholders, the people and the community beforehand with a view to supporting the consideration to implement or to grant permission according to the law.

A person and a community shall have the right to obtain information, explanation and justification from State agencies prior to the implementation or the permission under Paragraph One.

For the implementation or the permission under Paragraph One, the State shall take caution to minimize the impact on people, community, environment and biodiversity to the least extent, and shall fairly and promptly arrange for the provision of remedy for the suffering or the damage to the people or community affected thereby.

Among the questions and opinions on the project from professional associations, there was a question from the Association of Siamese Architects whether, in terms of hydraulic engineering, the promenade would reduce the potential flow rate of water. The explanation was that after analysis it was found that when the piles were sunk into the water, this will raise the water level by 3 cm. That doesn’t answer the question on the flow rate at all, and there are many other points where the responses don’t answer the question.

Buntoon also questioned the rush in deciding to build the Chao Phraya promenade since, according to the documents, there are 3 options. The first two deal with the issue behind the embankment, using community or religious areas to access the waterside. The second option is to use a public space or encroachment area to access the waterside.  The third option is to build outside the embankment, encroaching on the water. The question is if the first two options have been sufficiently studied. Was any importance really given to those options or not. The answer provided in the report was “no”. Furthermore, the Chao Phraya River also has other problems such as trash, encroachment and deterioration of water quality. The project doesn’t answer any of these problems.

Buntoon also said that if the 7 km cycle path is built along the Chao Phraya but forces the eviction of the community, with a large impact on the river, would people be brave enough to use it? Personally he wouldn’t be brave enough to ride on it if a lot of money has to be spent on the 7 km that will be gained in exchange for all the impacts. When considering the investment capital in construction of 14 billion, the many impacts and questions, as well as the other options that weren’t studied, we should wait for the Participation in Public Policies Act to be passed before continuing with the project.

Source: 
https://prachatai.com/journal/2018/11/79722

Since 2007, Prachatai English has been covering underreported issues in Thailand, especially about democratization and human rights, despite the risk and pressure from the law and the authorities. However, with only 2 full-time reporters and increasing annual operating costs, keeping our work going is a challenge. Your support will ensure we stay a professional media source and be able to expand our team to meet the challenges and deliver timely and in-depth reporting.

• Simple steps to support Prachatai English

1. Bank transfer to account “โครงการหนังสือพิมพ์อินเทอร์เน็ต ประชาไท” or “Prachatai Online Newspaper” 091-0-21689-4, Krungthai Bank

2. Or, Transfer money via Paypal, to e-mail address: [email protected], please leave a comment on the transaction as “For Prachatai English”