Petition filed to stop rice-pledging scheme
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The Stop Global Warming Association on Monday filed a petition to the Administrative Court, seeking the judicial power to sanction the rice-pledging scheme.
In the petition, filed on behalf of 64 consumers and farmers, it said the pledging scheme, which quotes above-market prices, results in the compilation of huge stocks. Deterioration in the quality hurts consumers and farmers and if allowed to proceed, the scheme would cause harms to the economy.
The petition named Yingluck, the National Rice Policy Committee, Commerce Minister and Commerce permanent secretary as the defendants.
The plaintiff seeks the court's ruling that the scheme must be stopped and an investigation into Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra over possible corruption be launched within 30 days.
The court is also asked to have the four defendants pay the unpaid debt to farmers. The plaintiff also asks for an injunction on the rice scheme.
Srisuwan Janya, president of the association, said that the petition is filed because the prime minister insisted on proceeding with the scheme though the government has no money to repay farmers. The scheme has cost losses and if proceeding, it will affect the overall economy.
