Condo opponents plan Supreme Court appeal
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Opponents of a condominium in Siang Son Niwet Village on Soi Sukhumvit 68 in Bangkok say they will take their case to the Supreme Court after the Central Administrative Court ruled in favour of the state environmental agency and the condo's developer yes
The residents had filed a lawsuit against the Office of Natural Resources and Environmental Policy and Planning (ONEP), which had approved the 100-page environmental impact assessment (EIA) for the Sense condominium, which was developed by Suparaj Development Limited Company.
The Central Administrative Court ruled that the ONEP’s panel of environmental experts had followed the law by hearing testimonies from relevant parties, including representatives from the developer and local residents. The court also ruled that the construction permit for the project complied with the law.
Wongpun Limpaseni, a 62-year-old resident of Siang Son Niwet Village, said the residents would file an appeal with the Supreme Court.
A group of 31 residents filed a complaint with the Central Administrative Court in 2008, seeking an injunction against construction of the condo.
Wongpun said the eight-storey, 200-unit building has caused traffic jams, water-drainage problems, power blackouts, noise and air pollution. Because of the building’s population density, it also poses security problems, he said. Additionally, the building casts a shadow on the village’s open space and residential properties. It is located about 400 metres from the Skytrain line.
The residents told the court that they were not included in the developer’s environmental impact assessment, therefore it is not in compliance with the 1992 Environmental Quality Protection and Promotion Act.
“The developers did not ask the opinion of people living in the one-kilometre radius who are directly affected by the condominium. They just asked some people who live far away from the construction site,” Wongpun said.
Villagers also asked the court to order the relevant authorities to revoke the construction license because the environmental assessment did not follow the law.
Stop Global Warming Association chairperson Srisuwan Janya, who represented a group of local people to hear yesterday’s verdict, said he and the residents will file an appeal with the Supreme Court within 30 days.
