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Published on November 17, 2007

 The NHA board has said it will consider the proposal on Monday.

NHA deputy governor Pittaya Charoenwan discussed the issue with 20 resident representatives yesterday. The authority has about Bt2 billion marked for the first phase of 1,000 houses, which will be built in a 40-rai plot in Pathum Thani's Rangsit Khlong 4 area, Pittaya said. Each unit will occupy about 23 square wah and be worth about Bt390,000, he said.

The residents will also be given the option of moving into Ban Ua Athorn houses in other part of the country, Pittaya said, and the NHA board will make a final decision on the amount allocated for moving expenses on Monday. He said residents would be notified about the conclusion of yesterday's meeting so they could sign up for the scheme.

"Demolitions will definitely go ahead because the buildings are deemed unsafe. The NHA, promoting better understanding with the flat residents, plans to set up an office in the flats' fifth building to gather opinions and information from the residents so together we can find the best solutions," Pittaya said.

If the proposal to exchange a flat for a Ban Ua Athorn house anywhere in Thailand is approved by the NHA board, the scheme would be implemented as soon as possible, and it should take residents only a year and a half to move.

Pittaya has also called on other Din Daeng residents to make proposals, because some 2,000 families will be affected by the demolition and the NHA aims to help them all to find a home.

Sithong Saebang, 57, a leading member of the residents' group, said that she and her family had lived in the Din Daeng flats for more than 13 years now and that her family would only agree to move out if the new place was better. To ensure this, she and some 20 other residents submitted their five-point request to the NHA yesterday.

The request included the right to own a house without having to pay, an immediate transfer of title deeds and a period for Din Daeng residents to do a trial stint in Ban Ua Athorn houses before they move out of their flats permanently. The other points included the allocation of Bt10,000 per family for moving expenses and the call for the NHA to establish a committee that would oversee and validate the scheme.

Sithong added that more than 100 families had so far signed up, though some residents opposed to the demolition attacked her verbally, while some resorted to tying a yellow ribbon in front of flats whose owners were all for the razing. She said these attacks did not scare her because she understood that each family had different needs.

After the meeting yesterday, NHA officials took the 20 resident representatives, most of them senior citizens, to look at a sample Ban Ua Athorn house.

Mayuree Sukyingcharoenwong

 The Nation