Chatt vows to act if Chatuchak vendors taken advantage of
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Deputy Transport Minister Chatt Kuldiloke yesterday said he needed time to check whether any of his subordinates had acted in a mafia-like way and taken advantage of Chatuchak Weekend Market vendors, and vowed to fire them if the allegation were true.
Insisting he would not tolerate anyone taking advantage of people in this way, Chatt also said there was no need to hike stall rental fees to allow the State Railway of Thailand (SRT) to earn Bt420 million a year from the market.
After reports that three mafia groups had cornered stall-renting contracts to lease them to other vendors at Bt15,000-Bt30,000 per stall per month, the deputy minister said he was looking into the case.
This includes the allegation that his subordinates, whom he had sent to collect intelligence at the market after a rumour that chaos would break out during the management transfer from the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to the SRT, were involved.
Asked what he would do if they had indeed acted beyond his instructions and taken advantage of people, Chatt said he would fire them. He pledged not to allow any mafia types take advantage of people on his watch.
The joint committee established to oversee the management transfer, which has now taken place, is considering the issue of building demolition, while the SRT is still negotiating with vendors about rental fees.
As of Tuesday, the agency had had four rounds of talks with the vendors, said Chatt. Asked whether the rental fees would increase so that the SRT could achieve the goal of earning Bt420 million per year from the market, he said there was no need for this to happen and that they would adjust the price appropriately and fairly.
Chatt said SRT management would improve the market’s orderliness and cleanliness, repair streets and arrange space for the disabled to sell goods, among other projects.
Questioned about the income not meeting the target and the BMA possibly claiming that the transfer had a political agenda, he said income was not the priority.
The main issue, he insisted, was that the land lease to the BMA had ended and the SRT now had to take care of its 68-rai property, which would remain as a market.
Chatt said it was unlikely that a concession would be granted to a private company to run the market because vendors would object to such a move, fearing the stall rental fees would be too expensive.
BMA Governor MR Sukhum-bhand Paribatra said deputy clerk Thaweesak Detdecho and lawyers had been assigned to participate in the joint committee.
As the contract required the BMA to return the market in its former state as empty land or face a fine, he said they would negotiate further on the details of the transfer.
