Urban projects gain favour, stoke fury

Urban projects gain favour, stoke fury

Bangkok in 2015 was mostly about the always controversial Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, along with the river promenade, dodgy fire truck purchases, Wat Kallaya and city clean-ups. (Bangkok Post file photos)
Bangkok in 2015 was mostly about the always controversial Governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra, along with the river promenade, dodgy fire truck purchases, Wat Kallaya and city clean-ups. (Bangkok Post file photos)

In 2015, Bangkok authorities revamped markets while anger built over graft.

Reclamation campaign wins praise

This year has been a challenging one for the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA). The agency has carried out several projects that have drawn both applause and catcalls from city residents.

The BMA managed to earn some trust with its clean-up campaign -- officially launched in July 2014 -- by reclaiming 44 public areas and pavements that were encroached upon by street vendors, including the controversial Khlong Thom and Saphan Lek markets.

A tactic the BMA employed to speed things along was claiming to have received a pile of complaints from pedestrians who said they were forced to walk on roads because stalls blocked their path. The agency also accused vendors of littering streets and being a source of crime and several social problems.

The city authorities earned loud applause when it swept about 1,000 vendors from Khlong Thom Market in March, some 200 amulet vendors from Tha Prachan and another 500 vendors from Saphan Lek Market in late October.

City Hall's popularity reached new heights when the BMA successfully turned the historical Khlong Ong Ang -- which had been encroached upon by Saphan Lek Market for over two decades -- into paved asphalt walkways along both canal banks.

In the process it cleared mountains of debris and garbage from the area and gave the area a swift facelift within 33 days, just in time to celebrate Loy Krathong for the first time in decades.

However, the vendors who were permanently banned from all these areas complained they were treated unfairly because the authorities gave them very little notice to move out which meant they had hardly any time to sell their stock.

Much of the BMA's success in its reclamation drive can be credited to its army of workers who worked hard in the campaign.

Part of the success can also be attributed to contributions made by the military.

But the clean-up campaign has left the public with a few unanswered questions, notably whether the cleared areas will remain free of illegal stalls long term.

Another question that needs to be asked is why City Hall has never set up a panel to conduct disciplinary probes against BMA officials suspected of being negligent or receiving bribes from vendors who were allowed to trade in public spaces in clear breach of city regulations.

That's easier said than done. No supervisors want to investigate people who work under them as this leads to a drop in worker morale and make them uncooperative. But City Hall would deserve a standing ovation if it musters the courage to dig deep into the issue and punish those behind what was a longstanding problem.

In November, fetid Khlong Ong Art was reclaimed from the intruding Saphan Lek (now part of history), just in time for a proper Loy Krathong celebration. (Photo by Panupong Changchai)

Riverside promenade 'lacks transparency'

The riverside promenade, as part of the "Return Happiness to the People" series, featuring a 14km path on both sides of the Chao Phraya River from Rama VII to the Pin Klao bridge, seems to have drawn more criticism than admiration.

The project, with an initial budget of 14 billion baht, got the nod from the Prayut government in February and the city was instructed to speed up the work which was intended to improve the people's quality of life.

Gen Prayut hoped the project would serve as a recreational space for outdoor activities for pedestrians and cyclists, and a dam to prevent flooding.

The 14km section was originally designed to be 19.5 metres wide, as a part of a larger 140km non-motorised path, proposed by the Office of Transport and Traffic Policy and Planning in Pathum Thani, Nonthaburi, Bangkok and Samut Prakan.

Critics, including a network of architects, activists, and local historians, are concerned the project will be an eyesore and have a large impact on cultural diversity along the banks of the river which is touted as an important national artery. If the project is approved, biodiversity and community evictions will also be considered a great loss.

They accused the city of running the project with no transparency.

A feasibility study was completed, resulting in a gigantic promenade -- which appeared as though an expressway had been misplaced next to the Chao Phraya River.

The opposition also worried over the terms of reference (TOR) which excluded architects from the design process. Critics observed that the TOR was originally designed for road construction, not public areas and called on City Hall to include the involvement of experts.

From budget approval to execution of studies and bidding processes, each step was rapidly carried out by the government.

In order to appease its critics, the government later said the budget was to be halved to seven billion baht and the width of the promenade was narrowed to 15 metres, and subsequently reduced to 10 metres.

Critics hope the government will take any constructive criticism into account leading to a revamp of what is seen as a problem-ridden project.

Truck deal fires up a storm

The fire trucks left idle in warehouses in the graft-tainted procurement project involving City Hall are on their way to being dusted off for use in the middle of 2016.

City Hall has 315 fire engines, 30 fire boats and fire-fighting equipment in storage, with little option but to repair them. However, the cost of repairs is estimated to run into millions of baht.

The controversial deal valued at 6.6 billion baht was signed by late Bangkok governor Samak Sundaravej in 2004.

The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) agreed to purchase the items from Steyr-Daimler-Puch Spezialfahrzeug AG & CO KG (Steyr), an Austrian supplier. The instalment payments of 6.68 billion baht were finally concluded in 2011.

However, subsequent administrations found the deal was not transparent and the fire engines were "overpriced".

The scandal, which prompted an investigation by the National Anti-Corruption Commission, forced Bangkok governor MR Sukhumbhand Paribatra to terminate the deal.

In September 2013, the Supreme Court's Criminal Division for Political Office-Holders handed down a 12-year prison term to ex-deputy interior minister Pracha Maleenont and a 10-year term to Pol Maj Gen Athilak Tanchukiat, the former director of the Public Disaster Prevention Office, for their alleged price collusion over the scheme.

Both Pracha and Pol Maj Gen Athilak fled the country after sentencing and are still on the run.

The case eventually went to the Geneva-based Court of Conciliation and Arbitration which late last year ordered Steyr to pay €20.49 million (820 million baht) in damages to City Hall, which in return was required to accept all the fire engines, boats and equipment procured from the Austrian firm.

Questions have been raised over how the BMA will deal with the dilapidated fire vehicles, boats and other equipment, which have been kept in warehouses for nine years. It remains uncertain whether the 820 million baht in compensation will be able to cover the costs.

Observers said the case is similar to other scandal-plagued projects which caused huge damage to the country, such as the Klong Dan waste water treatment plant in Samut Prakan.

MR Sukhumbhand remains tight-lipped over the scheme. Sources said he risked being fined if he spoke out about the case during the proceedings, based on an agreement made with the court.

After the ruling, the governor and his working team asked for time to translate the decision and promised to hold a news conference to divulge details of the case. So far, however, no news conference has been held.

BMA deputy governor Pol Gen Assawin Kwanmuang said City Hall is drafting an agreement to bring 176 fire engines out of warehouses for repair. Most are run-down and the repair cost is expected to exceed 180 million baht, he said.

The repairs will be completed in the next five or six months and the vehicles will be commissioned in the middle of next year.

Another 100 fire engines are kept in a separate warehouse operated by Namyong Terminal Plc in Laem Chabang deep-sea port in Chon Buri. Whether City Hall will pay the storage costs at the facility is being contested in the Administrative Court.

Wat abbot kicks out community

Community activists say the Wat Kalayanamit eviction case, in which the monastery and landlord kicked out the centuries-old community that once served as its patrons, violates the traditional Thai concept of boworn, or bor wor ror -- the ties between temples, communities and government that form the basis of a strong society.

During the eviction, which finished at the end of October, the temple turned a deaf ear to numerous petitions by social activists, historians and state agencies, which urged the temple to respect the historical community, which was comprised of 57 families.

Though some were not the original landowners, others had lived on the land for decades. Many of the evicted residents said the temple's move would have gone against the will of the original landowner, Chao Chom Manda Chaem, who wanted the community to stay to support the temple as its patrons.

The temple, which claimed land ownership and began to evict local community members in 2006, had embarked on a long-standing court battle with the community.

It eventually won, leaving residents with no choice but to vacate the premises.

The community said they were targeted because they had opposed the abbot's demolition of heritage structures, including a stupa that kept the ashes of the Kalanamitr grand lady. The community had alerted the Fine Arts Department (FAD) of the illicit destruction of natural heritage structures, and the FAD took legal action against the monastery and tore down two new structures illegally erected in 2009. The two pavilions were among 89 buildings and items registered as historical buildings with the FAD in 1949; 22 of them which were illegally destroyed by the abbot.

According to residents, Wat Kalayanamit wanted to clear the community area to make way for a parking lot for visitors. Though many local activists have criticised the eviction for violating human rights, the FAD's newly-appointed director-general recently handed an olive branch to the temple with a joint three-step plan to restore the original landscape.

The plan includes the demolition of modern structures inappropriately built on temple grounds and re-building the destroyed historical buildings, but the community remains banished from the area.

A clamourous year for 'quiet' Sukhumbhand

It is any Bangkokian's guess what their governor will think when he looks back at his trouble-plagued months in 2015.

What seems to be the "quiet" personality of Sukhumbhand Paribatra not only raises doubts among Bangkokians who have rarely seen him appear in public to trumpet the city's work, but it also amazes Democrat Party leader Abhisit Vejjajiva who, at least in their canceled meeting early last month, also found it hard to contact the governor, who is a key party member.

But while MR Sukhumbhand is surrounded by unsolved problems, arising both from his personality and close aides, he still approaches them using his old tricks by keeping a low profile and almost saying nothing, according to observers.

MR Sukhumbhand has communicated less and less with Bangkokians since 2014 when he was suspended from work for about six months while waiting for an Appeal Court verdict on his alleged violation of election law during his campaign in 2013.

Though the judge ruled in MR Sukhumbhand's favour, his return to City Hall did not see him form a closer connection with Bangkokians. The governor has shied away from public speeches since the verdict.

Even when City Hall faced questions over alleged irregularities in its spending on the capital's closed-circuit TV system and the procurement of musical instruments, especially pianos, for city-run schools, the governor still kept his mouth shut. Only his deputies came out to deny the accusations, observers said.

Alleged corruption continued to mar City Hall's image when two of MR Sukhumbhand's four deputies were dragged into hot water by former Democrat MPs Wilas Janpithak and Watchara Phetthong.

Mr Wilas, previously a chairman of a House committee on anti-corruption, accused a deputy Bangkok governor of misspending funds on overseas trips and demanding bribes in return for lobbying on behalf of high-ranking officials for promotions.

The corruption complaints prompted MR Sukhumbhand and Mr Abhisit to hold a meeting, but on Nov 6, the governor made a last-minute cancellation by having his assistant secretary phone Mr Abhisit to inform him he had urgent work to do.

This behaviour, where MR Sukhumbhand did not make the call himself, was seen as inappropriate. To make things worse, a Democrat Party source said, it was not the first time the governor had dodged a meeting with Mr Abhisit.

With growing doubts over MR Sukhumbhand, Democrat executives agreed unofficially to expel him from the party, saying he did not work in line with party policies.

While insisting the preference to expel MR Sukhumbhand is not a party resolution, Mr Abhisit did not reject the idea.

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