Working committee to study details of court order: Yingluck
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Govt will hold public hearings in all provinces in compliance with ruling
The government resolved yesterday to set up a working committee to interpret the Central Administrative Court’s order related to the Bt350-billion water-management scheme.
Also, Prime Minister Yingluck Shinawatra will be asked to appoint Education Minister Phongthep Thepkanjana as chairman of the panel.
The decision was announced at a press conference held yesterday by PM’s Office Ministry permanent secretary Tongthong Chandrangsu, Deputy Prime Minister Plodprasop Suraswadi and secretary-general for the Office of the Council of State Achaporn Charuchinda.
The court ruled yesterday that the government needs to first carry out environmental and health impact assessments for projects considered harmful to the environment and communities.
Plodprasop said the government has worked hard in addressing problems that had contributed to the 2011 flood crisis. He said, the government was ready to comply with the law.
In compliance with the Constitution’s Section 57 (2), he plans to hold a public hearing involving 20,000 to 40,000 individuals from each region. The hearings should take no more than two months to complete.
Meanwhile, the National Resources and Environment Ministry will survey possible impacts and report the results to the Water and Flood Management Commission as per the Constitution’s Section 67 (2). He also urged academics and others who oppose the plan to voice their suggestions.
Achaporn added that there had still not been any discussion on communication with four private companies, which had won the bids for the nine modules.
He added that the government had already provided loans to finance the projects and the interest would be calculated from the day the loans are disbursed.
In another development, Srisuwan Janya, president of the Stop Global Warming Association, which took the case to court, yesterday filed a petition with the National Anti-Corruption Commission (NACC) against Yingluck and Tongthong for violating the charter when implementing the mega-water project.
Yingluck, meanwhile, said her government was ready to comply with the law, adding that the project was designed as a total solution for the country’s flooding and drought situations. She went on to say that the project would also improve the irrigation system in some areas to ensure better harvests.
“We have been doing our best. Now that the Administrative Court has issued the order, the working committee will study it in detail,” Yingluck said. “We will comply with the court’s advice. It has affected some processes, so the committee needs to look at the details.”
