The Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) will amend its 40-year-old BMA Act to modernise urban governance while enhancing the city's administrative efficiency, it says.
Aekwaranyu Amrapal, a BMA spokesman, said yesterday the body is proposing amendments to the BMA Act 1985 to enhance efficiency in line with the challenges facing a modern city.
"After nearly three years of work and gathering public feedback from various communities, it has become clear that Bangkok still struggles with structural issues -- such as repeated pavement excavation, severe traffic congestion, under-utilised areas beneath expressways, and messy overhead cables," he said.
These problems largely stem from limitations within the current administrative system, which has been governed by the same law for over 40 years, he said.
He said the proposed amendments to the BMA Act will focus on three core dimensions: duties and powers, funding and budget, and administrative structure.
The amendment will expand the power of the BMA to carry out more responsibilities, such as setting and enforcing emission standards for vehicles and all types of factories, providing comprehensive care for vulnerable groups in Bangkok, and taking more effective action against illegal businesses in the city.
With the amended law, the BMA will be able to raise additional revenue through new taxes or fees, including a cigarette tax, hotel tax, pollution tax, and a surcharge on old vehicles.
The BMA invites citizens to participate in an online hearing at 2528.bangkok.go.th, which will be open for feedback until May 18.