PUBLISHED : 28 Aug 2023 at 17:00
Activist Srisuwan Janya is pressing the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA) to take action against the Ashton Asoke condo a month after its building permit was retroactively revoked by a court order.
Mr Srisuwan accused the BMA of sitting on its hands since a month has now passed since the Supreme Administrative Court ordered the permit revoked because the property’s main entrance was not the required width.
The permit’s withdrawal has been interpreted to mean the condo, located in a prime area adjacent to both Sukhumvit and Asoke Montri roads, was illegally built. However, the BMA said earlier the project developer, Ananda MF Asia Asoke Co, could re-apply for a permit in 30 days.
The condo unit owners and tenants were reportedly looking to sue the company for damages.
Mr Srisuwan said on Monday that the 30 days have expired without the issue being addressed. There is still no entrance that is at least 12 metres wide — the minimum legally-required width for a building as tall as the 50-plus storey Ashton Asoke condo.
The BMA is duty-bound to enforce relevant sections of the Building Control Act in compliance with the court’s ruling in the case.
Access to the building may be blocked or in the worst-case scenario, the condo may need to be demolished, although the BMA has given its assurance things would not come to that.
Mr Srisuwan, who led petitioners in bringing the Ashton Asoke case to the Central Administrative Court in the first place, said the condo is technically and legally deemed to have been permit-less since the day it was built eight years ago.
For starters, the activist said the BMA should slap a fine on the condo developer for each day the project has been without a permit until a new one is granted.
“The BMA can’t sit idly by and play into the hands of a private company,” he said, adding the BMA is in danger of being in dereliction of duty if it is found to be buying time by not enforcing the law.
The petitioners are made up of local residents who claimed they suffered from noise pollution and falling debris during the condo’s construction.
Mr Srisuwan said the condo unit owners were paying a hefty sum of money hiring lawyers to ask the court for a retrial, which in his view was a futile exercise since the case was final.
He said the Office of the Attorney General was ready to provide legal assistance and consultations to the unit owners free of charge.
Ashton Asoke condo