Women and old people sit at the gates of Government House during a long wait for authorities to meet them and receive their petition against the coal project.

Boxes containing lists of names and copies of ID cards of Rayong residents who oppose the IRPC project.

Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Pornchai Rujiprapa receives the petition, promising to visit the site this Sunday.

3,000 people from Rayong province gathered in front of Government House on Sept 11 to petition the government to scrap the planned construction of a coal-fired power plant in their neighborhood.

The opponents collected names and copies of ID cards of 15,000 opponents in many subdistricts, and asked to submit them to the Cabinet Secretary or ministers in charge.

Later Energy Ministry Permanent Secretary Pornchai Rujiprapa came out to receive the petition and said that IRPC Ltd Plc had yet to submit its bid, and the executives had said the company would not proceed with the project. However, if the company decided to bid, there would be several procedural steps to be taken including consideration of the suitability of the area, the environmental impact, and public hearings and approval, he said.

The protesters dispersed after the Permanent Secretary promised that he and his deputy would visit the site for fact-finding purposes on Sept 16.

Earlier on Sept 3-5, about 10,000 people had protested against the planned 800-1,600MW power plant in the eastern town. The project was being developed by a private company, IRPC Ltd Plc, which was about to make a bid under the Independent Power Producer (IPP) scheme. In response to the protest, the company's executives publicly announced that the plant would not be built in the area.

A protester said that they had faced difficulties in traveling to protest in Bangkok, as 40 buses they had chartered were blocked by the police along the way. Mostly fruit growers who are less busy as the growing season has passed, they had collected money among themselves to pay for the buses. He believed the power plant would affect their livelihoods if it was allowed to be built.

Eastern People Network coordinator Sutthi Atchasai said that the collected names were evidence of local people's disapproval of the project. And if the government did not take heed of their concerns and approved the project, they would file a lawsuit at the Administrative Court under the current Constitution's Article 67 which guarantees the people's rights to protect the environment and their livelihoods.

The article also prohibits projects or activities that may adversely affect communities in terms of the environment and health, unless environmental and health impact assessments and a process of public hearings are conducted. And communities have the right to sue state agencies, state enterprises, local administrative bodies, or other state legal entities.

Translated by Ponglert Pongwanan