HM the King to be petitioned over plan for new parliament

Pornpat Ransiyo, who is a graduate of Yothinburana School, said he and 20 other former pupils decided to file a petition with the Administrative Court against plans to shift the school to pave way for construction of the new Parliament.

He said the group would later petition the King over the matter. He criticised Prime Minister Samak Sundaravej for ignoring complaints by students from the school and failing to undertake the project in a democratic manner.

Deputy House Speaker Apiwan Wiriyachai distributed papers yesterday to try to clarify misunderstandings about construction of the new Parliament. The plan has been strongly opposed by local residents.

He said the government had sorted out problems of people and state agencies affected by the move to build the new Parliament on a plot of state land by the Chao Phya River at Kiak Kai, in Dusit district.

The government says it has given a 16-rai plot of land so Yothinburana School can be relocated. But the school is just one of eight agencies affected.

The school will be also get more than Bt1 billion in compensation so the current premises can be demolished and the relocation completed within two years.

Students will only have to travel 1.7 kilometres further from the current location or five to six bus stops.

Another Bt3.9 billion will be given to other state agencies that will have to relocate to other areas.

Senate Speaker Prasopsuk Boondet denied any vested interest in the decision to build the new Parliament in Kiak Kai, despite budget approval for the plan being rushed through and contracts signed with state agencies.

He said the government had got state agencies to sign a memorandum of understanding, vouching that they would shift from their current sites to pave way for construction of the new House.

He said the decision was not a rush as the proposal had been put forward a long time ago but MPs had simply not be able to agree on the location.

"Now every party agrees that the Kiak Kai plot is the most suitable location," he said.

He also denied that the plan was being pushed without without heeding public opinion, and said an environmental impact assessment was now underway.