18 Apr 2016

A network of eight provincial environmental protection groups and the EnLawThai Foundation (EnLaw)…filed a joint petition to the Administrative Court of Bangkok against National Council for Peace and Order (NCPO) Order No. 4/2016.

The order, which was issued by Gen Prayut Chan-o-cha, the junta leader and Prime Minister, in January 2016, exempts all power plants, water treatment plants, garbage disposal and collection plants, recycling plants, and gas processing plants from regulations under the 1975 Town and City Planning Act.

The authorities said that the order is necessary to meet Thailand’s increasing energy demand in the future.

In the petition ‘State Authorities which Violate Human Rights must be Held Accountable’, the group urged the Administrative Court to lift the order saying “[the order] is unlawful and will severely affect the environment, health and livelihood of people in a long run.”

The order is also against the principles of community rights, the environmental group added…