Council panel poised to plug city law loophole

BMA has limited teeth to enforce change

Bangkok Council has decided to set up a committee to review laws and regulations in an effort to better regulate management of the inner part of Rattanakosin island, the city’s old town.

The time frame for this project is 150 days and the committee comprises 17 members, said councillor Phaithoon Khampharat, who proposed the motion asking for the laws and regulations to be reviewed.

Despite the existence of about 10 laws concerning the management of the inner Rattanakosin island zone, which houses several historic buildings, the zone has faced several problems associated with poor management, he said.

Among the most annoying issues, he said, are unruly stalls that obstruct pavements and roads, polluted water in canals, homeless people, prostitution, the illegal parking of tourist coaches around Sanam Luang, and insufficient lighting and security cameras.

One of the issues to be discussed is a 2003 regulation issued by the Prime Minister’s Office that deals with the preservation and development of the Rattanakosin Kingdom and its old town, he said.

The problem is the regulation applies only to a number of government agencies, not individuals who cause damage to Rattanakosin island. As a regulation rather than a law, the scope of its authority is limited.

The Bangkok Council committee aims to explore ways to get rid of this loophole for the sake of better management of inner Rattanakosin island, he said.

The composition of the government’s committee assigned to oversee the preservation and development of Rattanakosin may also need to be altered to improve the panel’s work efficiency, he said.

Currently, he said, neither the Bangkok governor nor the city clerk has been appointed to a leading position within the committee.

That is despite the fact that the area falls under the care of the Bangkok Metropolitan Administration (BMA), which should be more familiar with problems of the area than any other state organisation, critics argue.

The BMA should be granted sufficient authority to enforce at least one of these laws and regulations so it can lead a more important role in efforts to preserve the historic sites in the area, he said.

He failed to clarify the reasons why the BMA has effectively been shut out of the managerial process.

Inner Rattanakosin island, in particular, is steeped in the history of the Rattanakosin era dating back to the time of the founding of the Rattanakosin Kingdom, he said.

The kingdom is the fourth traditional centre of power in the history of Thailand (or Siam).

It was founded in 1782 with the establishment of Bangkok as its capital.