Demonstranterna som av regeringen kallats för sopor, skräp, avskräde, avfall för att dom protesterade mot regeringens 350 billion baht water management
har avgått med en skön seger.
The so-called "garbage" won the first round of a legal battle to protect Thailand from the worst of the damage if the 350 billion baht water management plan is allowed to proceed without input from the people most affected, the local communities.
The Central Administrative Court on Thursday ordered the government to organise "thorough" public hearings in areas to be affected by the various projects under the ambitious water management plan before it enters into agreements with the successful bidders.
Like the devastating rice pledging scheme, which was thickly shrouded in secrecy, the water megaproject has completely lacked transparency from the beginning. Instead of going through the normal channels by submitting a financial bill to the parliament for an off-budget loan to cover the massive cost of the plan, the government enacted an executive decree to bypass parliamentary scrutiny.
Segrare bland företagen som slogs för att ta del av regeringens arbeten var Korean Water Resources Corporation, or K-Water
A photo recently posted on the social media showing former prime minister Thaksin Shinawatra sitting next to a top executive of K-Water last August has raised suspicions that Thaksin might have a role in the company’s success in winning a 163 billion baht contract, the most costly of the ten modules.
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The two trillion baht infrastructure development project is being aggressively pushed by the government, and is a another good example of the need for accountability. Who knows, it could even end up in the court room and meet the same fate as the water management plan.
Which explains why the ruling Pheu Thai Party - from the Man in Dubai down to the bottom - holds the Administrative Court and the Constitution Court in deep contempt and distrust, because they are standing firm.
- Writer: Veera Prateepchaikul
- Position: Former Editor
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