On August 10, 2023, more than 100 villagers of Non Thai District and Kham Sakaesaeng District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province (commonly known as Korat), gathered in front of the Nakhon Ratchasima Provincial Hall to discuss with governor of Nakhon Ratchasima province and protest against the construction of a waste to energy power plant with 9.9 megawatt of capacity and 1,600 million baht of investment cost. The project site is in Pha Ngad Subdistrict, Kham Sakaesang District, Nakhon Ratchasima Province. [i]
Village representatives revealed that during the public hearing organized on January 29, 2023, almost all villagers had never voted but a public hearing summary reported that the majority of the people agreed. In addition, the villagers who opposed the project submitted more than 3,000 names of people who disagreed, while people who agreed with the development of the project submitted 1,234 names of people who agreed, which was a minority. However, the project continues to move forward, which has been approved by the Ministry of Interior and in the process of selecting a contractor. [ii]
Village representatives then call the governor to set up a working group to consider the project including inspecting the implementation of related government agencies and suspend the construction of the project then returned to public hearing process again with more transparency, where the governor promised the villagers that they would respect a majority vote and hold another public hearing as requested. [ii]
Reference:
[i] https://mgronline.com/local/detail/9660000071946 (10/08/23)
[ii] https://mgronline.com/local/detail/9660000072254 (11/08/23)