Critics blast it as being ‘pro-developer’
PUBLISHED : 12 Jan 2024 at 05:33
Bangkok governor Chadchart Sittipunt on Thursday defended the fourth revision of City Hall’s plan for the city, which has attracted public criticism for being “pro-developer”.
Responding to the backlash, Mr Chadchart said City Hall is always open to constructive criticism but added that some opinions may cause social disunity.
The governor said via Facebook that, by law, the plan needs to be revised every five years to support the city’s growth.
Responding to criticism, he said the new plan aims to enhance people’s living standards.
Public hearings are under way before the plan is submitted to a Provincial City Plan Committee for further processing.
At one hearing on Saturday, Korn Chatikavanij, former finance minister and representative of a civil group, said the plan seemed to emphasise making the city more dense rather than improving the quality of people’s lives. Mr Korn also questioned the reason for expanding 148 roads around the city that City Hall claimed would support the railway system.
He believed the road expansion would benefit the construction of skyscrapers in residential areas, as the law prohibits high-rise buildings from being built on small roads.
He also commented against an FAR (floor-to-area ratio) bonus, saying that City Hall needed to include the measure as a prime condition for developers to lessen the chance of corruption.
Sophon Noorat, head of the Rights Protection and Protection Department of the Thai Consumer Council (TCC), said that the plan tended to support development and did not focus enough on people’s quality of life.
Kongsak Sahamontree from the Urban Life Quality Protection Community Network said the plan lacks public participation. He suggested that people’s opinions be heard and the plan revised accordingly.
Wisanu Subsompon, a deputy Bangkok governor, said on Tuesday that the plan was written based on the city’s expansion and changing area usage to increase green space for the public.
Colour coding used in the plan was for the public’s benefit, not for certain groups of developers, he added.
The public has at least 90 days to comment on the plan before approval, said Mr Wisanu.